Starring: Kurt Russell, Jay Baruchel, Matt Dillon, Kenneth Welsh, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jason Jones, Terrence Stamp, Katheryn Winnick, Devon Bostick
Directed By: Jonathan Sobol
As part of my new segment, I’m making a greater effort to review some of the lesser known titles available on Netflix. Today’s title is Art Of The Steal, a comedy caper in the vein of Now You See Me and Oceans Eleven. It was released theatrically earlier this year, and made less than 100K. I don’t know why the studio was so afraid to release this film with any kind of a real marketing push. It isn’t a terrible film, it managed a 47% on Rotten Tomatoes. What went wrong?
I think the problem is that Matt Dillon and Kurt Russell are no longer perceived as box office stars. The film is well written, and has a really cool twist at the end. Jay Baruchel is kind of annoying, and the supporting people (Winnick and Diamantopoulos) are a waste of space. Jason Jones is bizarrely interesting as an Interpol agent.
The idea is that Russell’s character is a professional driver, and he is part of a crew, which includes his brother (Dillon), until his brother sells them out. Now Russell makes his living as a daredevil. But he finds himself in money trouble, and reunites the gang together… for one last score.
It not a particularly long movie. If you liked the other movies I mentioned, you’ll probably enjoy 90 minutes of this.
FINAL GRADE: B-
