directed by Christian Gudegast
The ending may cause you to rewatch it. My only quibble was that as is common with many such stories the viewer will likely have seen many of the scenes and plot points before. There are a few actors who I thought didn't quite convince but generally this was an entertaining movie. I thought the actor who had the best role was Pablo Schreiber as Ray Merrimen, a veteran and former Marine Special Operations operative. I didn't recall until much later that back in the day Schreiber had also appeared on HBO's The Wire as Nick Sobotka.
Schreiber is also Liev Schreiber's little brother, though since he is now taller and more muscular than Liev, perhaps younger brother is a better description. Something similar happened to me with my younger brother. So it goes.
Anyhow, Ray is being released from prison. See, what Ray does is rob. He goes wherever the money is, but what he specializes in are banks. As many people have noted, California prisons are segregated by race. In prison Ray was one of the white supremacist gang leaders, but now that he's out, Ray leaves that nonsense behind. Ray's putting the band back together, which includes people of various races: White, Black, Asian-Pacific Islanders, etc.
He knows what they can or can't do and how they will react when things get rough.
The gang's most prominent members include Enson Levoux (Curtis Jackson), Bo Osterman (Evan Jones), Mack (Cooper Andrews), and the new guy, skilled driver Donnie Wilson (O'Shea Jackson Jr.)
Ray is cold, calculating, and fair. If you play straight with Ray, he'll take care of you. If you don't then either Ray or Enson will take you for a one way ride.
Ray lives by a code that is derived from his high school football days and Marine experiences.
Play between the lines and through the whistle. Ray and his team generally eschew violence against non-combatants and/or people who have stood down and are following orders. But if you're in a uniform and are shooting at them they'll put you in the ground with no regrets. Ray has no time for snitches or incompetents.
Ray has a plan for an impossible caper. Ray intends to rob the local Federal Reserve Bank of about $30 million in currency designated for destruction and thus untraceable. This job not only will cement Ray's rep as the greatest bank robber ever, it might even allow Ray and his team to retire from the game. Ray has planned everything down to the second. It will be the most difficult score Ray has ever done.
Nick is the ironic law enforcement counterpart to Ray. Both men played high school football for rival schools. Both men are muscular alpha males who lead multiracial teams of men dedicated to their work. Where Ray is cool, calm, and collected, Nick is prone to displays of swaggering machismo and brutality. Ray plots and thinks logically. Nick reacts and goes with his gut.
Nick thinks he's found Ray's weak spot. He intends to exploit it.
This film was made in 2018. I think if it were made today Nick would be portrayed with a little more nuance. He really is a bully with a pretty unpleasant personality. The viewer will probably wind up rooting for the "bad guys".
The film looks good. The big heist has plenty of tension and excitement. There are all the requisite surprises that one might expect from this sort of film. The film's big drawback is, as mentioned, it's one of a long line of such films. Unlike many such heist films there's not really a serious love interest/conflict for anyone. Big Nick routinely cheats on his wife. Enson's wife gets little screen time. Ray has some mercenary relationships with strippers.
