Very well executed

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

When i first heard about this film i wasn't so sure if i was going to like it or not but i was way too wrong and harsh with this film because i didn't know what to expect but it was really really good with some really great performances and a great story every heist they did it was brilliant the way they planned every time to hit each bank with different clothes it was awesome and they even went 2 times and robbed the same bank. It's funny, it's sad and action packed a really good heist movie i hope Thomas Jane could make more movies like this the only thing i didn't liked was the ending a little bit but still a very good movie with a good script and a good cast you totally need to see it if you haven't.

For £1 in your local supermarket's bargain bin (€1.10 and $1.65 at the time of writing) you don't really expect the DVD you picked up on a whim to amount to much. But Stander is a revelation and quite why Morrison's had already relegated it to junk status, I don't know. Another drawback - or apparent drawback - was the legend on the cover 'Based on a true story', which usually means 'we got the idea from something that happened and glammed it up'. Yet Stander sticks pretty close to the facts. Andre Stander, at one point the youngest police captain in South Africa and the son of a respected general, starts robbing banks while still serving. Later, once he has escaped jail, he forms the very successful Stander Gang and carries on his life of crime. As portrayed in the film, greed is apparently not his motive. The film suggests that he after killing a man while on riot duty he simply loses faith with the establishment and decides to f*** the system. Biographical details I have looked up suggest he had some sort of breakdown after his brother was killed in a crash and he had to identify the body. But what is remarkable about the film is that despite a storyline which is as close to fiction as life is ever going to get, nothing is sensationalised. Stander's relationships with his father, his former wife and his friends all ring true and Bronwen Hughes, the American writer/director plays it straight without, however, playing boring. There are several quite moving scenes in the film as when, for example, Stander seeks out the father of the man he killed and allows him to take his revenge. Whether of not that happened I don't know, but the film doesn't play it for cheap emotions. There is another scene where Stander tries to persuade his former wife to leave the country with him. She refuses, obliquely admitting that she, too, hates the apartheid system in which they all live, but that she has found a way of accommodating it. In fact, it is pretty obvious that she feels betrayed by Stander who had more or less thrown away a happy life with her. Honesty is, in fact, the hallmark of Hughes's film. Worth more than being given a chance. You might even be persuaded to go out of your way to watch it. Scenes which in less subtle hands might have made this just another run-of-the-mill movie - for example, the way it the rottenness at the core of the regime, also ring true. I puzzled that I had never before heard of this film, or why it is already languishing in a bargain bin valued at merely £1. It is worth every penny, and then some.

All in all an excellent ride! They got the theme, feel and pacing just right. Thomas Jane was wonderful in this role. By far his best work with worthy material. The cinematography was perfect to set the feel of the era. A very nicely done script. You understand the character somewhat even if you do not agree with his actions. The movie never becomes preachy or sanctimonious. You get the impression that thought and feel went into the whole process. If all action movies had this type of follow though and attention o detail I would go to see a lot more of them. I hope this director makes more of them. It would be a great improvement over the standard fare.All in all an excellent ride!

The tagline 'Good Cop. Great Criminal' perfectly describes "Stander" the action-thriller based on real life events that took place in South Africa in the late 70's and 80's.Disillusioned with the way the police force operates (in terms of the police always being available to investigate crimes involving black people, but not white people), Andre Stander, a respected and brilliant police officer began a life of crime, similar to that of Robin Hood, whereby he began robbing banks very effectively, and he gave the stolen money to needy African people. Of course eventually he was found out, and sentenced to many years in prison.While in prison though he forms a bond with two others - Allan Heyl and Lee McCall - and after breaking out of prison they return to robbing banks and keeping the police force always one step ahead. However, a series of events leads to a tragic and bitter end for the members of the 'Stander Gang'."Stander" is an amazing film that brings to life the injustice suffered by many Africans in South Africa, but the racism can be applied to any country in the world, where a police force is not entirely fair and just.The handsome Tom Jane is perfect as Andre Stander. Charming, compassionate and determined, he plays the role with strength and conviction. He also appears naked several times early in the film which may please some of his fans. The beautiful Deborah Kara Unger gives another amazing performance as Stander's sympathetic wife Bekkie, who also meets a tragic end though this is not shown on screen. David O'Hara and Dexter Fletcher play Allan Hely and Lee McCall respectively, Stander's prison mates and later partners.Tom Jane and Deborah Kara Unger also perfect a South African accent, not at all making it come across as forced or fake. Great direction from Bronwen Hughes and some gripping storytelling from the writer Bima Slagg. Overall, and fantastic film that not only gives a history lesson, but a compelling and wonderful story. Well done to all those involved.