Great Film overall

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Captivating movie !

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Stander is my favorite movie that nobody seems to know about (even most South Africans).Of all the useless shallow, and meaningless drivel that Hollywood serves up, you would think that an exceptional film like Stander would at least get some recognition.Well, the marketing was just horrible I guess. I tried to get some of my American friends to watch the movie but I didn't have a copy with me, so I looked up the trailer so they could get some idea of what it's about. The only result of this being that we decided that it was the worst movie trailer we'd ever seen.The story of a white, South African police captain who decides to rob banks, set to the backdrop of 70's Apartheid Johannesburg would be a great story on it's own if it were fictional, but incredibly it's a true story. And if you go do some research you will find that the script very accurately follows the original story (with a few additions here and there to help the flow of the film).It's hard to say what is the best aspect of this film, but if I were forced to point out one thing it would be the way that 70's Johannesburg was recreated. From the old cars to the original bank names and crazy hairstyles. The cinematography is also done in such a way that the color is a bit faded out. This makes you feel like you are watching some classic bank robbery movie from the seventies. As a South African myself I found the recreation extremely accurate and detailed, especially for a Canadian film company and director. Johannesburg even looked cleaner, because right now Jo'burg is quite a dirty city.As far as acting goes you never like to see a foreigner playing one of your own countrymen, but Thomas Jane completely blows you away with the best performance of his career. He had the challenge of portraying one of the most complex movie-characters I'd ever encountered and adding to this he also had to put on a very strong South African accent. I couldn't even believe that this was the same man who played the 'Die Hard'-style action hero in 'Deep Blue See'. His accent is close to flawless, much better than Leonardo in 'Blood Diamond' or Tim Robbins.Thomas Jane is also supported by a strong group of supporting actors. The Canadian actress, Kara Unger plays Stander's wife, a character almost as complex as Stander himself and the interaction of the couple is well portrayed. The two other members of the 'Stander Gang' make the movie that much more enjoyable as they bring even more complexity but also humour. The rest of the cast is all South African and this adds to the realism in the film. Most notable of the South African performances are Stander's father, played by Marius Weyers, and Stander's friend in the police force, Captain Cor van Deventer.Stander, in the end is the story of a man in conflict with the world around him, the mistakes of his past and the random cruelty he sees happening all around him. This is a recurring theme emphasized by the line, "The wrong ones do keep dying".I found that I was rooting for Stander all the way, other than in 'Public Enemies' where I had no sympathy for the selfish behaviour of the main character at all.I could keep rambling on about how good the film is but in the end I just want people to spend the 5 dollars and buy the film from Ebay or Itunes, or borrow it from a friend. You will not be disappointed! A warning for sensitive viewers, the riot scenes in Soweto are very graphic and realistic.

When I heard about STANDER and saw clips from it and the reviews were mostly positive, I really wanted to see it. Unfortunately, once I got my hands on the DVD and watched it, I was totally disappointed.I don't know all the details about the real Stander but the attempt to make him look like some sort of Robin Hood of South Africa were superficial. It's hard to empathize with a thief who, no matter how much he actually helped blacks, lived in wealth and loved to live the high life. Humble he wasn't. The script is based on a true story and again one wonders were the truth begins and were creative licences were made to make the story more exciting. In the end, I feel like I know as much about Stander now as I knew before I even heard of him, which just shows you how pointless this film was.The big problem with STANDER are the cold, distant characters. No amount of stylish film-making can overcome a story with characters you just don't care about.

Andre Stander is a white south African detective living and working under Apartheid. He has a beautiful wife and a respected high ranking father. We first encounter Stander at a moment of happiness in his life, he is getting married. But this happiness is short lived as Stander and the police are brought in to a township to crush an uprising of protesting blacks. The riot scene is shot in realistic fashion- giving a real feel of violence about to erupt on both sides. The camera remains tight on Standers face as he shoots his shotgun in to the belly of a rushing protester and then emptying the weapon in to the crowd of unarmed black protesters, Thomas Jane does a great job of showing some complex emotions here- disgust and rage and even the thrill of adrenaline. We get an inkling of how Stander feels about what he has done when he beats up a boasting sub-ordinate cop for a callous remark after the massacre. Unable to come to terms with the regime he protects Stander has a kind of breakdown and on a whim robs a bank. He later returns- in a tense and funny scene as the investigating officer!. Stander robs bank after bank in a variety of disguises and seems unmotivated by the money he steals with such brazen confidence, indeed we come to realise the act of robbing is more an act of defiance for the government he now despises coupled with a kind of release. When Stander is finally caught by his own friends in the police is it relief we see on his face?. Stander is sentenced for a long time, and in a key scene in court he tells the judge that he has fired upon unarmed men- this is what he feels he should be on trial for we are led to believe. In jail Stander meets two fellow cons who also have robbed banks and together they escape. The trio name themselves the 'Stander gang' and become notorious outlaws thrilling and terrifying the public. The other criminals enjoy the easy money, however for Stander the adrenaline of his crimes is no longer enough to keep him distracted from his inner turmoil and he seeks out the father of the young man who he shot years ago in the riots. He is beaten with a club by the distraught man who doesn't kill Stander, instead turning away in disgust. The angry father however cannot beat out Standers inner demons who are pushing him toward a bloody self destruction. By now the police are closing in on the gangs hideout and a bloody shoot out occurs killing one member of the gang much to Standers horror. Stander flees the country for America. Safe in the states in a moving scene he contacts his father by phone under a false identity- as the cops are bugging the line and lets him know he respects and loves his father. America offers little peace of mind for Stander, though we are shown the difference in the cultures as blacks are on equal footing with whites here.In an anger and drink fuelled burst of emotions he runs a red light and is pulled over by two cops, refusing to follow their orders he fights one cop for his shotgun and is shot numerous times by the other officer. a violent end to a man who was full of self loathing and disgust at his crimes. Well what can i say about this movie..., Thomas Jane gives a blazing performance with a difficult role and complex character. Thank god this wasn't given the banal t.v movie treatment. Thomas Jane is an uneven actor sometimes amazing ( as in this film) and sometimes..well rubbish ( as in Deep Blue Sea). The rest of the cast are excellent and pull off the difficult job of portraying real people with skill. I would recommend this movie for anyone who likes excellent acting and intelligent scripting and stylish , thrilling direction.

Being a South African and Afrikaner myself it's a nicely made movie about South Africa, unlike some biased movies out there.Though Andre Stander speaks English in the movie he was an Afrikaner. He's character speaks obviously English for the audience to understand. As for robbing the same bank twice, that is true.The only difference was it was not done in a matter of a few minutes like in the movie, but a few days later.This is a great story from Africa where so many such other great stories can't wait to be told.Good old popcorn gangster flick....definitely not a girlie movie ;-)