Fresh and Exciting

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Wily con artist Neal Skinner (a sound and engaging performance by Pierce Brosnan) gets paroled after serving four years in prison. Neal plans to get revenge by robbing the racetrack run by his former partner Ebbet Berens (smoothly played by Tom Skerritt), who set Neal up in order to have complete dibs on the business. Moreover, Nal also wants his feisty old flame Sheila (a nice portrayal by Wendy Hughes) back. Director Stuart Orme, working from a smart and absorbing script by William Irish Jr., relates the tricky story at a steady pace, offers a flavorsome evocation of the racetrack setting, and stages the slick and exciting big gig with considerable aplomb. A strong supporting cast of reliable veteran thespians helps matters a whole lot: Robert Prosky as rascally gambler Dancer, Noble Willingham as crusty security guard Stuckey, and Tom Atkins as gruff ramrod Detective Leland. Ben Mittleman and Nino Surdo are amusing as two thuggish goons who work for Berens. The surprise twist at the very end is a real pip. Both George Tirl's sharp cinematography and Arthur B. Rubinstein's bluesy'n'funky score are up to speed. A neat little movie.

A man gets out of prison and gets back at his old partner by robbing his racetrack. He even tells him he;'s going to do it and the owner is ready for him. Yes, that's an improbable story but an intriguing one. It wound up with so many twists and turns in the final minutes that I couldn't follow all of them. Many of the twists centered around ex-con character, which was impossible to figure out.Pierce Brosnan played "Neil Skinner," a man who served four years in prison he shouldn't have had to serve. Tom Skerritt plays "Ebbet Berens," the racetrack owner whom Brosnan is after. Wendy Hughes plays "Sheila," the love interest in the film.Interesting overall as Brosnan seems to be tuning up for his suave, James Bond roles, which he would begin in about five years. This film was interesting, but unsatisfying by the time it was all over. A simpler ending would have made this a much better film.

I'm really not much of a Brosnan fan, but I was impressed with his early work in Fourth Protocol with M. Caine...so I thought I'd take a chance and buy The Heist...thinking it must be a FAIRLY decent movie.WRONG!!! The opening scene with Brosnan spitting out on the prison yard was an IMMEDIATE turn-off. A thoroughly substandard production almost totally lacking in anything that would make you want to pay to see. Unimaginative and insipid at worst...boring and predictable at best...and where did they find his love interest? Short, fat, ugly and old.What was up with that!? I though ole Pierce was supposed to be a "ladies man". The supporting characters only succeeded in bringing what little of a movie there might have been down in flames.Even Skerrit was horrendous! All in all a thorough disaster to be avoided at ALL costs!!!Poor music score as well.

Leave it to Pierce Brosnan to be in the worst movie HBO ever made. The network's movies have received numerous award nominations, but The Heist is totally light-weight. Brosnan wears scuzzy clothes and has no charm in this movie. His character pursues a woman who abandoned him when he was arrested and returned all the letters he sent her from jail. When he sees her again, she makes it clear she's not interested, but he still thinks she loves him. Later, she vacillates between Brosnan and Tom Skerritt, just to see who will end up on top. The sex scene isn't even sexy because all you can see is an isolated shot of a man's butt, indicating it's not even Brosnan but a double.