Determined To Succeed

What would you do if you found some money? Does it make a difference how much money? Would you try to find its owner whether it was five bucks, or a hundred or a thousand? Would you return cash that fell off the back of an armored car? Chew on that for a bit while I tell you about the flick I saw yesterday, “Armored.”

The more and more you read my reviews the more you will see I’m an action movie junkie. Don’t get me wrong. I love dramas, comedies, art films, rom coms, everything. But give me something with guns blazing, high speed chases and explosions and I’m so there.

When I saw the trailer for “Armored” I was hooked not just for those reasons but it’s really good cast. Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Jean Reno (The Professional), Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes)…yeah. Ticket, please…

But what started out as a promising story – a down-on-his-luck/money/family rookie guard for an armored truck company is coerced by his veteran coworkers to steal a truck containing $42 million. But a wrinkle in their supposedly foolproof plan divides the group, leading to deadly consequences – soon turned into a textbook example of how sloppy writing and some bad direction can ruin the last five minutes of a film.

Was I completely displeased with “Armored,” No. There are far worse movies I’ve seen this year. But, without giving too much away, the last scene of the film should have played out differently to stay true to the characters involved. It is in these characters’ interactions and lines that I lost the ability to say I really recommend this flick. The end should have played out differently. It should have. It should have been directed better. The actors should have known their characters enough to know it should have ended on a more emotional note. But no. It didn’t, so the film absolutely deflates for me.

All told, if you see this you could do worse. But you can certainly do better with other heist flicks. One that comes to mind is called “Heist” with Gene Hackman and Delroy Lindo. Another is “The Spanish Prisoner” with Steve Martin. Hell, even the original “Ocean’s 11” with Frank Sinatra has such a killer twist ending it will leave you speechless.

So did you think about what you’d do with “found” money? During this holiday season, if you do find money, unless you ABSOLUTELY need it for gas, food or a friend hard on their luck, donate it to charity and spread the joys we can sometimes take for granted. There is always someone worse off who could use a smile and $20 to get them from one day to the next.

And don’t rush out to see “Armored.” I just don’t want you to feel ripped off. As poorly as it did at the box office on its opening weekend you may not have long to pay to see it anyway.

Matt Dillon … Mike Cochrone

Jean Reno … Quinn

Laurence Fishburne… Baines

Amaury Nolasco… Palmer

Fred Ward … Duncan Ashcroft

Milo Ventimiglia… Eckehart

Skeet Ulrich … Dobbs

Columbus Short… Ty Hackett

Andre Kinney … Jimmy Hackett (as Andre Jamal Kinney)

Andrew Fiscella… Dispatcher #1

Nick Jameson … Homeless Man

Glenn Taranto … Joe the Cook

Lorna Raver … Child Welfare Agent

Garry Guerrier … Federal Guard

Robert Harvey … Bank Guard

Runtime: 88 min
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense violence, some disturbing images and brief strong language