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The
American Bandit has been popularized in American society dating
back to the old west. Such notorious individuals as Billy the
Kid, Jessie James, Bonnie and Clyde, and even Butch Cassidy and
the Sundance Kid hold a special romance to many.
Sociologists
have pondered if charisma, the thrill of danger, or projection
of inner fantasies have led people to romanticize certain
criminals to folk hero status, despite the fact that many of
them were violent individuals who met a bloody end.
Times
have changed and in these violent times, much of the luster for
hardened criminals has waned as the media constantly feeds us
images and reports of violence on a nightly basis. However, the
old world charm of the so called, “Gentleman Bandits” still
appeals, as people always like to support the underdog,
especially if the believe the people are out for a good cause.
In
the new film “Bandits” viewers are introduced to Joe Blake
and Terry Collins (Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton). The two
are good friends who are serving time in an Oregon prison for
bank robbery. The two are also at first glance a mismatch. Joe
is very suave and charming, yet has an issue with anger
management we are told by Terry. Terry on the other hand, is a
hypochondriac of epic proportions as he is constantly
complaining about all sorts of ailments and fretting about what
is the next ailment he will be forced to endure.
When
an unexpected opportunity arises, Joe seizes the moment and
escapes prison-dragging Terry along with him. Being on the lamb,
Joe and Terry realize that they need money and soon return to
what they know best, robbing banks. While fleeing the police
after a robbery, the two fugitives hide in a home that is
occupied by a teenager and her hormone driven boyfriend Phil. It
seems the girl’s parents are away for a trip, and she is
staying home unknown to her parents so she can be with her
boyfriend. Terry decides that they can use this situation long
term, and he organizes a plan that will lower their risks and
increase their haul.
Joe
and Terry decide to stake out a bank and the night before they
strike, they hold the bank manager and his family hostage and
stay the night with them. In the morning, they all go to the
bank before it opens, rob the bank, and leave the family and
staff safely tucked away. This earns the team the name “The
Sleepover Bandits” Joe also brings in a driver (Troy Garrity,
son of Jane Fonda), who is also an aspiring stuntman.
The
team is a big success as they become legends thanks to the media
and especially a “Americas Most Wanted” style show called
“Crime Stoppers” that follows their exploits amongst growing
ratings.
Joe
and Terry plan to work their way down the coast into Mexico and
gather enough money to open their own nightclub. Joe does not
see what they are doing as stealing, as he says the government
insures the money, and since he believes they have been
stealing, he like a modern day Robin Hood believes is taking
back what was wrongfully taken.
As
the saying goes, into ones life some rain must fall, and Terry
is nearly killed when he tries to stop a speeding car in order
to make a getaway. A frustrated and depressed housewife, named
Kate (Cate Blanchett), drives the car. She accompanies Terry to
the gangs meeting place, as after a job, they split up for two
weeks, and then meet again to go to their next job, and Terry is
unsure what to do with this crazy lady. Before long, Kate
becomes one of the gang and is involved with Joe.
Before
you know it, Kate ends up in hiding with Terry during their
two-week hideout, and a love triangle soon follows.
Fuel is only added to the fire when the media begins to
think that Kate is not a hostage but rather a Patty Hearst style
accomplice who is helping the gang. Needless to say, tensions
mount, and division’s form amongst the group.
The
film is told in flashbacks as the opening of the film involves a
robbery that has obviously not gone as planned and Joe and Terry
argue over how it was that woman that did this to them and
ruined them. While the flashbacks at time spoil what is to come,
there is a nice twist that helps the story along and explains
why the characters are acting in a way that is so unlike what
they have previously established as their normal behavior.
The
biggest problem that I had with the film was the pacing. Early
in the film, it moves along at a steady pace. However, once Kate
enters the picture, the pacing slows way down. We do get some
nice scenes of character development, but the cast spends a lot
of time doing nothing, and chatting about noting in particular.
With a running time of 120 minutes, I believe 15-25 minutes
could have been trimmed that would have greatly increased the
pacing of the film. Midway through the movie, I found myself
bored on more than one occasion, and I wished the film would
hurry to the climax that had been shown earlier in the film.
Scenes
of the group sitting on the beach, in a bar, or in their rooms
were nice but added nothing but length to the film, and did not
add to the characters. It seemed as if these scenes were
improvised, as they were not essential to the story and ruined
the pacing of the film to the point of boredom.
Veteran
director Barry Levinson gets fantastic performances out of his
male leads, as Thornton gives a tour de force performance as
Terry. We can see that his hypochondria masks a very intelligent
and caring individual who struggles to find himself, but is
never anyone’s victim, and stands up for himself when needed.
Despite his quirks, he is very good at what he does, and Joe
knows this. Willis gives a great performance as Joe, as he is
charming and confident, and commands the screen. The chemistry
between Thornton and Willis is great and they work very well
with one another in both the serious and comedic scenes.
The
biggest problem with the cast was that Kate Blanchett was given
little to work with, as she is the most undefined character in
the film. We know Kate is a sad and lonely housewife, we know
her husband is inattentive towards her, yet even though she has
the most established background of any of the characters, Kate
is often reduced to being little more than the love interest in
the film, and her quirks are emphasized more than the real
person underneath her exterior.
Furthermore,
we are shown early in the film that Joe has an anger management
issue, as Terry has to pull Joe off a fellow inmate in a prison
boxing match after the inmate hits Joe with a cheap shot.
Terry calms Joe him by telling him to work on his anger
management, however Joe later shows very little anger and is
actually the calmer of the two.
Is
“Bandits” a great film? No. However, it is a film that
features some solid performances and does have some very
entertaining moments. I found the pacing of the film and an
ending that was far to Hollywood spoiled what could have been a
true classic, yet if you can sit through some slow moving
segments that had many in the preview audience squirming in
their seats, then “Bandits” is sure to entertain.
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