Load of rubbish!!

A Disappointing Continuation

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

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

Sometimes there are movies that don't give a real reason as to why they should exist. Most movies when released serve a purpose. Whether they are extremely well made or just cheap cash-ins, there's usually an understandable reason. Whether it is ethical or not for making the movie is another question entirely. No matter if it's just making money off the name or because the filmmakers actually have a vision, they both serve as valid reasons as to why they exist. Also in the past, several macho actors from the 1980s have all made a few blunders in their time. Most of these box office bombs were because of being cast in unorthodox roles or ones that just didn't fit them. The genre with most of these examples belongs to the comedy films. As it turns out, Die Hard (1988) star Bruce Willis wasn't done trying his hand out at forced comedic roles until the early 2000s. Oddly enough, this felt like one of those movies that by the end of the showing made the viewer question why they even bothered to watch it. It literally serves no purpose in any way.Directed by Barry Levinson, this romantic heist comedy is short on almost everything it's supposed to deliver. Written by Harley Peyton, who has penned more TV episodes than anything else, the script is a story that barely engages its viewing audience. The plot involves two nationally recognized thieves known as the "Sleepover Bandits" who end up falling in love with an accidental hostage. Featured on a TV show, the two criminals at large are Joe Blake (Bruce Willis) and Terry Collins (Billy Bob Thorton). The female hostage that they both end up panting over is Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett), a rich housewife who loves to cook and can't stand her own marriage. For two hours, this film drags its feet doing nothing particularly important related to the plot. Pacing is one of the film's biggest problems. For such a cut and dry scenario, the length at which this story is stretched to is ridiculous. Especially when the main set of characters barely get the development they need to be likable.Aside from Wheeler not liking the way her husband kissed her, there is no other given motivation as to why she can't stand the life she lives. On the other side, no explanation is given as to how Collins or Blake got into the profession of robbing banks. Nor is it elaborated on how they got so good at it. Or even if they really are that cold blooded since a few hostages question their actions. That actually would've been more captivating to focus on. There's also another character named Harvey Pollard (Troy Garity) who has his own character arc but doesn't add anything to the main plot. Pollard's goal is to become a stuntman and that particular trait is only utilized once throughout the whole movie. Convenient much? The execution is highly cliché in its play out of the story. There are numerous things that can be seen way before the end credits role. One of the reasons why this is known is because the movie starts off at the finale and then rewinds to the beginning. It hardly creates the required tension to make the movie engaging. One more nail in the coffin is the chemistry between Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thorton. The two just don't make the kind of buddy duo one would enjoy. Bruce Willis plays it soft spoken Mr. Mysterious with an ugly mullet and rarely makes a funny line. Billy Bob Thorton oppositely plays his role loud, jittery and obnoxious. Thorton says the name "Joe" almost after every sentence. Is it really that necessary to point out whom you're talking to in every line of dialog? It's apparent that Peyton was trying to define these characters so differently, but they're so exaggerated that they aren't as relatable as they could be. None of the lines these two main leads have to say are worthy of even a chuckle. Every bit of dialog, scenario and end result is just playing on screen to use time. It's not even that it's bad dialog, it's just boring. Watching two oddball characters ham it up about who wants to be with the female hostage feels rehashed and over done so many times. Really, who cares?The only two redeeming elements to this movie are the music and camera-work. Credited as director of photography, Dante Spinotti has acceptable work here. Giving his talents to other movies like Heat (1995), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and Hercules (2014), Spinotti has proved that he can capture clear settings for different scenes. From what was displayed no shots shook around nor did they have any problems showing the audience of which certain things were stationed. For music, the underrated Christopher Young worked as the composer. Strangely enough having Young on board didn't change much of the experience for two reasons. The first reason is that Young does have a some cues that are interesting to hear but they are very short lived. The second reason is that Young is known for composing music to horror films; how in the world did he get hired for this project? It nowhere fits his previous credits in his filmography. Besides, most of Young's work gets run over by all the early 2000s mainstream music. Just great....not.The film on a visual aspect looks fine and the music is nice even though Christopher Young as composer is not using his skills wisely. Anything else is all questionable. The movie does not prove itself to have a reason for existence. The characters are boring, the premise is boring, and the comedy is boring. It's all boring and overdone.

I knew nothing about this film before I watched it. I saw that it stars Bruce Willis and Cate Blanchett, and it made me curious. What kind of film might serve as the intersection of those two disparate careers? Now that I have watched the film, I am glad I did. I really enjoyed this crime comedy. And it all starts with Cate Blanchett. If I had to choose one word to describe her (as a person or as an actress) it would be "mercurial". And her willingness to do the unexpected and to challenge herself comes through every role. Here, as Kate, the woman who (literally) accidentally becomes a part of a crime spree involving two escaped prisoners, she shines. And she is totally believable as the woman who is off-center, somewhat kooky, dangerously unpredictable and still deliciously desirable.Bruce Willis plays Joe Blake and Billy Bob Thornton plays Terry Collins. Joe is spontaneous and confident. Terry is a hypochondriac with OCD tendencies, who is always one twinge away from what he believes to be an exotic demise. Together, they are dubbed the "sleepover bandits". They bicker like Butch and Sundance and similarly dream of a south-of-the-border paradise (filled with tuxedos and margaritas). Eventually, they become popular folk heroes, like Bonnie and Clyde. I think it's no accident that their sidekick/driver is named Harvey Pollard--an homage to Michael J. Pollard, who costarred in "Bonnie & Clyde".The story allows the desperadoes to interact with their "victims", who they treat as family friends. But the main thrust is the development of the triangle between Kate, Joe and Terry. There are some memorable lines and some wonderful moments. This comedy may be somewhat understated for some viewers, judging by some reviews, but it is not so understated as to bypass an opportunity for some incidental physical comedy.

Bandits is a clever, unusual bank-heist caper staring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton as Joe and Terry, escaped convicts on the run, jacking banks under the guise of the "sleepover bandits" given their technique of kidnapping Bank Managers the night before to robbery. They're charming and non-violent, just wanting to finance their dream of getting Mexico to live the high lift. Playboy Joe (Willis) and hypochondriac Terry (Thornton) get into difficulty when bored housewife Kate (Blanchett) joins the duo. Comic relief, the klutz of the operation is wannabe stuntman Troy Garity, who is on a mission of his own having seen his dream girl "Pink Boots" (January Jones). Director Levinson played the action/drama realistic and close and it was believable enough to keep you in the story; the viewer believes the premise of the film as being plausible, "why hasn't anyone thought of this before?" This keeps the story zipping along, with wise cracks, tos and fros in story, and flashes back and forward, which I found clever devices to misdirect. With Willis' charm and Thornton's chameleon funny disguises and great acting his various symptoms and annoyances, and Blanchett's brilliance, the film was well cast and clever. Enjoyable, watchable and entertaining.

"Bandits" is one of those comedies where everything is so perfect that it is just a joy to watch. That feeling of enjoyment is from a clever plot, and acting and directing that never lets the story become a farce.The writing, directing (Baltimore's Barry Levenson) and acting are all superb. I particularly appreciated Cate Blanchet's performance as Kate Wheeler, an unappreciated gorgeous wife in despair because she has prepared a fabulous gourmet dinner and then her dolt of a husband decides to skip dinner. (I recently saw a serious drama, "The Man Who Cried," in which Cate Blanchett was also terrific. She hadn't come to my attention previously.) Billy Bob Thornton also was great as a neurotic convict/bank robber, and Bruce Willis uses a tough guy persona that has worked exceedingly well in such previous films as "Pulp Fiction." The plot, derived from a true criminal case, is about a pair of convict buddies who break out of prison and begin robbing banks to finance their dream of a plush retirement in Mexico. But they don't like the dangers that ordinary bank robbers risk, so they come up with a novel approach of getting the bank managers to let them into rob the banks in the morning before the bank is open to customers. But when Cate Blanchett's character enters their life, a romantic conflict ensues. Troy Garity is very good as an easily distracted movie stunt man (I don't recall if he was a friend or relative) in need of some excitement who jumps at the opportunity to drive the bank robbers' get-away-car.The story is told as a narrative reflecting back on the events that led up to the narration's current time. The end has a surprise twist that I was able to guess because of something included earlier in the film.If you are old enough or fortunate enough to have seen Alex Guiness' 1950's era classic crime comedies, "The Ladykillers" and "The Lavender Hill Mob," I think you will find that "Bandits" brings them to mind, despite "Bandits" being a less broad form of comedy.