Sick Product of a Sick System

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Beautiful, moving film.

The movie is so so, not so bad for watching, a standard Hollywood action movie. Not better, not worse than thousands of the similar ones. But, some things are so unlogical, that you can't miss it. 1. You need to find some cash in some very short period of time. What do you do? You rob the bank, of course. But, this bank, with the detector of temperature, with the BIIIIG, steel door of the safe, which is opened with the at least 9 or more digit code (we could see that when the director of the bank opened the door in the presence of police), they save the GOLD BARS above the sewer???!!!! All you need to do is to drill the bottom of the safe and the gold bars will fall in your lap. In this case, it was some electric welding machine and the bars were melted and fell down. So convenient. 2. The daughter of the main character is in the trunk of the taxi. The kidnapper set the taxi in fire. The most logic way to open the trunk is to use your jacket to wrap your hands and to try to open the trunk. NOOO. For our hero, it is better to go with the car in the lake, THEN to try to open the trunk, when your daughter is drowning in the confined space. INSANE. Of course, the car didn't sink immediately, it was on the surface until the director of the movie needed. When the fight was over, that moment the car sunk. So nice. 3. The main character was carrying his daughter with both hands (so, nothing was in them, but his daughter), but when he was attacked, the iron bar was in his hands to finish the kidnapper. So convenient. Again, the movie is a standard, average action movie. Not better, not worse than any other. And not worth of remembering.

I can't really claim to be a fan of Nicolas Cage and his perpetual constipated grimace. But I still decided to sit down and watch "Stolen". And I must say that the movie turned out to be alright. Although a different leading actor might just have upped the movie a notch.While the storyline does fall into some stereotypical pitfalls for a movie of this genre, then the overall movie was entertaining enough. The movie does start out at a fast pace and continues in a fast pace until the very end.The movie is predictable to the core, sure, but it is one of those types of movies suitable when you are looking for a movie that requires no thinking at all.Aside from Nicolas Cage, then the people on the cast list were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters. I will say that Nicolas Cage did a good enough job, but his one and only expression is hard to get past."Stolen" is sort of a mixture between movies such as "Taken" and "The Italian Job", favoring neither genre more than the other. But it wasn't a particularly outstanding movie.

Story: How often have we seen a bank robbing team spilt up with one turning on the rest when a job goes bad? It's easy to create the basic tension between the characters, you add in the resilient cop and we get the basic three way battle, all out to outsmart each other. Having the kidnapped daughter involved makes the villain of the piece look even more villainous. Sounds basic and it is, don't expect any massive twists or turns just enjoy the story unfolding. (7/10)Actor ReviewNicolas Cage: Will the mastermind of the bank robbers who gets caught, fresh out of prison he wants to live a normal life but his old partner has other plans for him. Good performance from Cage, do what he needs to do without really excelling. (7/10)Josh Lucas: Vincent the twisted former partner of Will who has been through some hard times and even faked his own death biding his time until he can get his money from Will. Good villainous role that does enough to make himself worse than just an old friend out for revenge. (8/10)Danny Huston: Tim the FBI agent who has been tracking Will for years putting his own personal life at risk and just when he thinks he has him he loses out on catching him with the money. Typical FBI agent role, that uses his hat to try and making him look different. (7/10)Malin Akerman: Riley a member of the robbery team that gets away and has turned her life around to become more honest. She helps Will when he needs to resources of his old life to save his daughter. Good supporting role. (6/10)Sami Gayle: Alison Will's daughter who resents him after his time away who gets kidnapped and tries to outsmart her kidnapper. Simple 'Help' performance that offers nothing new. (6/10)Director Review: Simon West – Good direction to create a simple to watch thriller. (7/10)Action: Few car chases that look good but not as much action as you would expect. (7/10)Thriller: Good thriller that keeps you pulled in to see what will happen next. (8/10)Settings: New Orleans makes for a good setting showing off the carnivals there. (8/10)Suggestion: This is one for the thriller fans out there to enjoy, it could appeal to the more casual fans as well being easy to watch. (Thriller Fans Watch)Best Part: Will's robbery, just nonsense style.Worst Part: Where did they get the information to be ready at the start?Action Scene Of The Film: Will trying to escape the opening chase.Believability: No (0/10)Chances of Tears: No (0/10)Chances of Sequel: NoPost Credits Scene: NoOscar Chances: NoBox Office: $2 MillionBudget: $35 MillionRuntime: 1 Hour 35 MinutesTagline: 12 Hours. $10 Million. 1 Kidnapped Daughter.Overall: Enjoyable ThrillerCheck out more reviews on http://moviesreview101.com/

Why You Might Like It: This film is definitely fast paced and full of action and suspense, which makes for a fun watch. The story is solid and the film has some cool heist scenes as well. It has many noticeable cast members in Nicolas Cage, Josh Lucas, and Malin Akerman for those who are fans of them. This reminded of one of Cage's earlier action films and it really exceeded my expectations. At a minimum, I think that anyone that watches this movie come away entertained.Why You Might Not Like It: Although the cast is noticeable, they aren't great in this film. Josh Lucas seems incredibly out of place and overacts his part in my opinion, while Nicolas Cage isn't quite up to par of his old self of the late 90's. There are a ton of spots in the film that are far fetched and unrealistic, which might frustrate some viewers. If you go into this expecting a air tight heist/ransom film, you will be disappointed.Acting/Casting: 6* Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 6.5*Plot/Characters: 6* Entertainment Value: 6.5* Total - 6+6.5+6+6.5 - 25/4 = 6.25 - Worth a watch