Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Disturbing yet enthralling

Better Late Then Never

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Here's a movie that has a razor-sharp script full if wit, style, and excitement. I think it's fair to say that David Mamet writes some of the best dialogue I've ever heard. It's a known fact that he uses a metronome in order to keep his dialogue to have a certain rhythm to it. There are so many great lines in this movie it's impossible to recite them all here. The directing is great. Mamet knows the genre very well.The acting by Gene Hackman is the tops. Here's a guy that is such an old pro he can take any role you give him and turn it into something great. This is not to say that the part of Joe Moore is uninteresting. It most certainly isn't! Danny De Vito is surprisingly good in this film. At first I thought, this guy is all wrong for this movie. The part he's playing is an old-fashion tough-guy villain. For the obvious reasons, this doesn't seem to fit De Vito, or so I thought. I have to admit, he is very entertaining to watch as well. Everyone it seems, has a problem with Rebecca Pidgeon. People tend to think that she's out of place in a Mamet film. Some think she delivers the lines wrong. Though I've never thought this of her, this is her best role! She reminds me of a modern, hip Veronica Lake, Barbara Stanywick type of femme fatal. She is just as good has Hackman in this movie. David Mamet's "Heist" is a modern classic that all other heist films must now be measured against! Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

David Mamet loves confidence tricksters. He understands the art of the con and he likes writing about the subject. When Mamet writes or directs a film about con men you know its a multi layered experience.Heist though is a misfire. It stars Gene Hackman and Rebecca Pidgeon as husband and wife as well as Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo and Sam Rockwell.Gene Hackman and his gang are forced by DeVito to steal a shipment of Swiss gold and has his nephew (Sam Rockwell) to tag along. He has an eye for Pidgeon and no one wants to share the proceeds of the heist.Its hard boiled with hard cursing and some Mamet regulars such as Ricky Jay. However Hackman is too old to be Pidgeon's husband and Pidgeon as an actress is weak here. The plot is too complicated as its based on a double cross on a double cross as well as a shootout where the bad guys have to be poor shots for any overall plan to work.The acting from Hackman, DeVito, Lindo and Rockwell make the film watchable but its a missed opportunity from Mamet.

David Mamet writes slick,psychologically dense drama. GlenGary GlenRoss, Redbelt, House of Games, etc. Heist is in the same vein as his other movies: complicated plots with even more complicated characters in them, in which nobody's motives are what they seem and nothing is as it appears. Slight spoiler The movie is about a robbery gone somewhat south. Gene Hackman, who is in charge of the crew, has to do another assignment for a crooked low-life played beautifully by Danny Devito (they should have a separate Oscars category for him called "Sarcasm"). Crosses, double crosses, and triple crosses ensue, laced with the cool witty dialogue and psychological insights for which Mamet is so well known. The casting is perfect: everyone is spot on although I thought the character that played Jimmy Silk was a bit thin. The ending will stay with you, and as Gene Hackman drives away you'll realize that he really "isn't a man who ties his shoes w/o a backup plan." It is the type of movie you almost need to see twice and even then you'll wonder who knew what and who did what intentionally.

David Mamet is undeniably great when it comes to writing... for the stage. His films adapted from his stage plays are all much better than his original screenplays, but Heist is a good effort. The film is about long time criminal Joe Moore, played by Gene Hackman. Joe begrudgingly takes on one last heist to steal a shipment of gold. However, Joe's employer sends along his nephew to ensure that the the haul from the heist is split evenly. Things play out like a fairly typical crime thriller, but the film is plenty entertaining and bares enough merit to warrant approval.Heist has plenty of good things going for it. To begin, it has a great cast full of a diverse amount of people with wide ranges of skill. Gene Hackman is great in his leading role and he fits the role excellently. He is an actor that can carry a film very well, and in Heist he does just that. Opposite Hackman is Danny DeVito as the sinister Mickey Bergman, Hackman's sleazy employer. He becomes your typical archetypal villain by the end of the film, but DeVito plays him great nonetheless. The rest of the supporting cast includes talents such as Rebecca Pidgeon, Delroy Lindo, and Ricky Jay as the other three members of Hackman's crew. They're each very different and played to a fun extent by their respective actors. Sam Rockwell, a current favorite of mine, is DeVito's nephew. He's a loser and an idiot, but makes for a fun character that plays into the story very well. That being said, the storyline in Heist isn't actually anything spectacular. It's fun and intriguing, but when you break it down it isn't terribly unique. But hey, at least the film has a story right? Heist has a very stylistic feel to it that I would have liked to see go further than it did. It does a lot of cool stuff that does keep it interesting throughout. For one, the score is great. Theodore Shapiro composed the original score for the film and it adds a lot to the style. It heightens some of the best moments of the film and also gives it a somewhat 80's thriller feel which I found entertaining at least. Probably one of the most interesting and well written aspects of the film would be the way this group of criminals pull off all of their heists. It is all through acting and improv skills. It constitutes dressing up as different professions and setting up false scenarios in order to set up situations. The heist itself could have gone a lot further but it is still fun. It lacks the depth that Mamet's other thrillers, but doesn't disappoint overall. I compared it to Mamet's directorial debut, House of Games (1987) and the depth of that film and the levels of the con/heist that developed in that movie. Heist had the potential to reach this level but unfortunately didn't quite make it.It shocks me to say that the main area where Heist falls short would be its story and script. The story is what it is and I found plenty of enjoyment for what it was worth, but there were some very noticeable issues with the screenplay. For the most part it is good. However, it is not consistent. There are moments in the film that definitely feel like Mamet. There are some very witty and insightful profundities that spring up from time to time in this film that brought a smile to my face. But there are other moments when characters utter things so silly, unnecessary, and absurd that you have to wonder what Mamet was thinking when he wrote it. Like I said before, Mamet's true talent lies in his playwriting ability rather than his screen writing ability. Some lines that may have looked good on paper just didn't translate well to the movie. Thankfully none of the nonsense that appears in this script is terribly blatant or it would have been a much bigger issue.Heist is far from perfect but it is undoubtedly fun. It is a fun film, especially if you are into big crime flicks. There isn't a whole lot to Heist and overall it isn't that memorable. But I had a good time while watching it, so I can give it credit for entertaining me for those two hours. It is not Mamet's best effort as far as the script goes, especially because I know how much better he can do (ie. Glengarry Glen Ross, House of Games, etc.) But looking at Heist as just another film, I was at least satisfied by the end and didn't regret watching the film one bit.