Going in Style (2017)
Directed by Zach Braff
Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, three lifelong pals risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.
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5 films that influenced Going in Style
What critics say influenced Going in Style
Going in Style is a mix of the friendship chemistry in Ocean's Eleven and the morality behind the crime lesson in Hell or High Water (without the excessive violence).
While it might not be as entertaining as the likes of "Ocean's Eleven" in terms of heist complexity (although there is a post-robbery breakdown of how things played out and hey, these guys are seniors so let's cut them some slack) and Dillon isn't anywhere as fun or funny as Jeff Bridges was in "Hell or High Water," the film is entertaining enough for what it's trying to do and be.
It’s pretty obvious those involved with the production were somehow hoping for the success of something like Steven Soderbergh’s 2001 crime caper Ocean’s Eleven, itself a remake.
What begins as a somewhat promising mix between “Grumpy Old Men” and “Ocean’s Eleven,” however, quickly turns into a pedestrian, paint-by-numbers comedy that wallows in its own genericness.
There’s an element of moral justification to the geriatric crew’s position, and Braff tries to mine enough contemporary economic angst to get his audience on board, but it isn’t quite enough to put his crew in “Ocean’s Eleven” territory.
Before long, the three have whipped together a plan for hitting the bank that is so elaborate that the guys from “Ocean’s Eleven” might have suggested that they simplify.
The film’s blue-and-orange colour palette is more of a reference to 1960s interior and industrial design — compare it to Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can (2002) – than an instance of the aggressive teal-and-orange colour grading favoured by blockbuster films.
Going in Style is a mix of the friendship chemistry in Ocean's Eleven and the morality behind the crime lesson in Hell or High Water (without the excessive violence).
In a more serious vein, the recent Oscar-nominated Hell Or High Water dealt with the effect of the banks taking over the little guy, and now this film seems equally well-timed to make an impact — albeit one that uses broad comedy in spots to drive its points home.
Continually patronized, underestimated or plainly ignored, Joe, Willie and Albert resemble the heroes of last year’s similarly themed “Hell or High Water” as they seek retribution for their financial woes and social insignificance.
Despite invoking today’s capitalist bogeymen of callous corporations and exploitative banks, Going in Style shrinks from class conflict of the sort that has animated heist films including David Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water , Ken Loach’s The Angels’ Share and even Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist .
Have them decide to rob their own bank for revenge and ride into the sunset for a senior citizen Hell or High Water.
Interestingly enough, it has just as much in common with last year's superlative "Hell or High Water."
Braff uses split screens for phone conversations and planning montages — a technique that Norman Jewison famously deployed in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968).
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Anyone looking for Garden State echoes will have to suffice with a couple of conspicuous needle drops and a few ostentatious tricks during the heist-planning montage.
And Braff has shown an ability to infuse his work with a vein of reality as in “Garden State” and “Wish I Was Here.”
Yet, director Zach Braff – having earned indie cred with 2004 debut Garden State and stumbled with his Kickstarter-funded 2014 sophomore effort Wish I Was Here – doesn’t appear to have much interest in delving too deep into this headier theme beyond using it to propel the plot forward.
It’s directed by actor Zach Braff (“Scrubs”) who, after the successful whimsy of “Garden State” (2004) and the disastrous whimsy of “Wish I Was Here” (2014), seems to be aspiring to a career as a Hollywood hack.
That anonymous predictability applies to everything about the movie, which was directed by Zach Braff in a move away from his deeply personal previous films (Garden State, Wish I Was Here) and into unabashed hackery.
But while Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin are sufficiently endearing, Garden State filmmaker Zach Braff never rises above sitcom-y shenanigans.