User Reviews

Bandit stands out with its unique and engaging storyline, supported by a well-crafted plot. Exceptional performances, direction elevates its impact leaving audiences engaged.

In a refreshing departure from unnecessary drama, Bandit follows a serious and believable storyline, resonating with viewers seeking substance in the satisfying Heist genre. Robbing banks can be cinematographed into a light, decent and believable movie with great acting.

Andrea's (Elisha Cuthbert) remarkable portrayal shines, adding to the movie's allure, despite her limited screen time compared to the protagonist. Robert (Josh Duhamel) himself is sensational and takes the center stage exceptionally well.

While the film does have some dull moments, they are justifiable, adding depth to the narrative. Overall, Bandit impresses with its catchy and engaging plot, making it a good cinematic experience.

Based on a true story (wathc the end credits, you'll get to see the real master thief being interviewed!).

The story: A Canadian bankrobber (during the eighties) managed to rob dozens of banks in a row. How did he do it? And did he get away with it?

The good: this is a run of the mill heist movie. Nothing out of the ordinary, but what makes this movie still worth a watch are the good acting performances and the understated humor.

Mel Gibson only has got a small supporting role by the way, so dont expect to see him much more than 15 minutes tops, but in those 15 minutes he does act well, acting as a rough and cunning old crime boss.

I always like to see a bankrobber play it cool when he robs a bank and this character is not only cool, but also quite funny, in a understated way!

Any bad? An half an hour could have been easily cut out of it, without hurting the movie. It gets a bit repetitive and a bit tedious at moments in the middle. And the love story part is a bit superfluous.

In the end this is simply a run of the mill heist movie. Not laugh out loud funny, but quite witty nonetheless. But beware it isnt spectacular or thrilling in any way, it's more of a laidback and mellow heist movie. But nonetheless entertaining enough to award it with a decent 6 stars.

A fun, light, movie that would be entertaining even if it wasn't based on true events. That fact that it is, just makes it better. Good acting, good jokes, not a dull moment. Highly recommend.

Josh Duhamel fits the role perfectly, so does Mel Gibson. Don't believe the reviews trashing the acting or the script because honestly, it is exactly what it is supposed to be. This is not a documentary nor was it written to be one, but if you look online for facts about the flying bandit, they managed to be much more accurate than most movies "based on true events". So, all and all, a great entertaining watch.

Mel Gibson has a small role (he's great but his recent movies have been really low B-minus) in this 80s bank hiest story starring Josh Duhamel, Elisha Cuthbert, and Nestor Carbonell, all of whom do a great job. The plot is a bit bland and too drawn out, but made more interesting with its great cast, fairly realistic scenes of robberies in pre-internet Canada, and the impression that it's a true story (I don't know if it actually is). If you like bank robber movies, this one is pretty fun and well produced. Not much violence, sex or bad language, so it's a good family movie if you need to be saved from a reality show or (argh) a Hallmark movie.

It's an interesting story that as a Canadian, I didn't even know about, but even Duhamel's charm wasn't enough to save the disjointed narrative. There are many small issues that failed this film to be great, instead of just good. One of the issues was the long and dragged out 126 min runtime; it had too much frustratingly bland filler and too little engaging substance to hold the viewer's attention. I was getting impatient in many scenes to "just get on with the story". I don't mind long running times, especially when time flies in the way the story is laid out and told, but in this case, time dragged on and I kept losing interest in between many scenes. I also felt the film suffered an identity crisis - not sure if it wanted to be taken seriously, or make me laugh along the way. Both happened, but not enough of either to keep me entertained in the 126 mins. The funny parts weren't funny enough, and the suspenseful parts were too far in between. I feel this needed to be cut down to a 90-100 min runtime to be more enjoyable. The middle parts of the film just didn't hold my attention very well. Even the narrating felt half completed and question if it needed more, or none at all to get the story going. It all just felt too bland and pedestrian to keep me entertained throughout. Although performances were decent and convincing especially Gibson and Duhamel, and the cinematography and score on point, this could've easily been more fun and suspenseful in the hands of more seasoned filmmakers.

Bandit is based on true events, that's how it starts, and that always makes it more interesting, gives the story a little punch. It's hard to believe though, makes you almost want to rob banks yourself, that's how easy it looked. But that was then, this wouldn't be possible anymore in this time and age. The story is easy to watch, no boring moments, a pinch of humour, and a good cast. Josh Duhamel plays the main character and he made him believable, a charismatic con artist that looks like he could get away with anything. Mel Gibson has a smaller role but for once he wasn't bad, a thing you could not really say for the last past years. If you like the crime genre Bandit is certainly worth a watch.

Sometimes all it takes is a good story, then the remaining pieces fall into place. Josh Duhamel did a great job portraying Gilbert and carried a strong presence throughout the movie with the accompanying cast. I've always been a fan of Elisha Cuthbert, and felt adequately sorry for her as her character navigated through a complicated relationship.

Nestor Carbonelli was my least favorite character (he played the detective Snydes). He was not my least because he did a bad job, I was more so annoyed with the detectives obsession with catching Gilbert and wanted the bad guy to get away.

I left this movie feeling fulfilled and slept good. It didn't have my running to my friends to tell the awesome story, but it was entertaining and kept me interested the duration of the movie.

Bandit was directed by Allan Ungar, written by Kraig Wenman who adapts from a novel by Robert Knuckle, and stars Josh Duhamel, Elisha Cuthbert, Nestor Carbonell, Swen Temmel, and Mel Gibson. It's about the true story of the Flying Bandit, who robbed 59 Canadian banks while being hunted by a police task force.

The Plot: Plenty of movies have been made about the exploits of criminals working their way through a series of banks and stores for curated jewels and currency, and there will be plenty more for things to come. Wenman's rendition though, has one of those "stranger than fiction" stories that's virtually unequivocal to its brothers in the cinemascape.

Reaganomics has taken its toll on America's lower and middle class, with people like Gilbert Galvan Jr. (Duhamel) opting to go the fraudulent route in life, resulting in their imprisonment - in his case - that gets him only 18 months, but that's too long, for him and the movie to linger on. Bandit has a bit of an issue with breezing past certain moments like this that would've been interesting to get at least a couple minutes to grasp, instead it moves onto Canada, with Gilbert donning the alias of Robert Whiteman.

Energy is had in spades, but the movie is able to slow down to track details with Andrea (Cuthbert), who Gilbert takes up with after his arrival. Some months later, Gilbert has to begin getting money the hard way, starting a spree of robberies that require some help as cops Snydes (Carbonell) and Hoffman (Temmel) start a task force to catch the flying bandit. Crime lord Tommy (Gibson) becomes Gilbert's partner as he goes cross-country on a bewildering and sometimes overstuffed streak.

In a vacuum, the plot is decently above average, but with the knowledge that large parts of what Bandit depicts actually happened, it raises itself another notch ahead of other crooks in the business, structural issues or nay.

The Characters: Motives and personality for the lead is fully realized in Wenman's screenplay, which tracks subplots and dynamics impeccably while rarely dipping into cliche, which mostly resides in the side characters.

Gilbert is immensely charming, but he kind of has to be since his skills are limited and his upbringing troubled. Though he tries to do the right thing for almost a full year with relatively limited success, he can't help but resort to the less than legal once he realizes that his relationship with Andrea is going to change. Creativity is by far his strongest asset though; able to think on the fly by creating a new identity, avoiding confrontation with smooth talking, and selling pitches with ease. He makes mistakes, keeping him human, but retains the larger-than-life personality of the man - largely due to Duhamel's fantastic acting.

Andrea falls fast for Gilbert's (Robert to her) charms. The romance that blossoms between them is a little forced, happening over the course of a handful of scenes together, but one the hurdle is cleared, there's a greater understanding to the character. She's not too different from her new flame since she's been burned the same way by the economic shift of the 80s. Her work at a church hostel comes into play for a little while too, as the movie makes mention of the relationship woes that come from Gilbert's "father" and so forth.

Snydes and Hoffman are a familiar duo. The former is fed up with the skyrocketing robberies in the country, angry at the same system that Gilbert is for drastically different reasons. He's willing to cut corners and take a hit to his income if it means catching culprits, whereas Hoffman is the opposite - a straight man with an odd vocabulary that bounces off of Snydes' sarcastic demeanor. All of these characters make for a colorful roster and are exceptionally performed by a who are clearly having a great time playing them.

The Crime: Surreal doesn't begin to describe the criminal antics of Bandit, which benefits from some of the most baffling and comedic heisting I think I've ever seen put to film. Eventually the point is made and these sequences begin to lose their luster, but watching the bizarre ways that both the robber and the cops work is utterly fascinating.

Charting the rise of the notorious thief is a process pulled off with ease by Ungar, who inches Gilbert towards a path of no return by slowly dropping off potential places of employment while a traditional family life begins to take shape. Audaciousness is present before either cop or robber enters a bank, as Gilbert spontaneously bargains with a homeless man for his ID, winning it for a meager sum and carving out a position for himself in the underworld.

Of course, the larceny is the main attraction, and the movie doesn't disappoint. Nervousness permeates the first crime, Gilbert doesn't really know what he's doing, renting a costume and fake nose while pretending he has a weapon to surprising success. His penchant for disguises is clever and endearing, even though most of them look awful (on purpose in the feature but unintentional in reality), even to those he sticks up for the cash. Bandit does eventually manage to escalate beyond these low-end jobs, taking on jewelers for greater reward, but Gilbert remains the same charisma radiator as before - even managing to win over a few frequent faces.

Project Café takes its time to get approved even as the titular character makes headlines, only making Snydes and Hoffman more eager to stop the crook. Their stakeouts give great insight into what it must've been like to be part of the case; watching as different looking guys who drive the same car arrive at Tommy's place and never being able to place any of the pieces in the right positions. Once the task force starts to grapple with the absurd, their investigation gains momentum, re-upping tension when it loses steam.

Criminal actions are in no short supply, and the novelty lasts for the majority of the film, making Bandit quirky in the right ways, even when some of the subject matter leans into familiar territory.

The Technics: Despite being an indie production, Bandit has plenty of stylistics and competent dressing to match its main character. Though it can waver at times due to some insistence to go overboard, it's a strong piece.

Recognizing the silliness of the premise is the best choice that the people behind the movie could've made in service of entertainment value. A lot of the laughs - and there are many - come naturally, but enjoyably campy makeup effects, nice editing from Ungar and Michael Lane, along with the snappy dialogue from Wenman pair superbly with the feature. In different hands, this could've been a silly subject taken too seriously. Sometimes the score can overplay itself in scenes that would've benefitted from the awkward silence of exchanges, the filmmakers had the right idea.

Pacing does become a problem by the last act, as the movie simply runs out of things to do. Cutting some of the extraneous robberies would not only make each one more memorable, tense and funny, but the runtime would've benefitted too, making the movie resemble Gilbert Galvan Jr. In the speed he gets in and out without a hitch.

Stories like this don't get a lot of attention simply because most people don't know how to handle the material. While Bandit isn't perfect in its execution, it's a fun ride bolstered by phenomenal acting and a willingness to embrace the absurdity of it all.

77/100.

Most of these reviews must be related to those involved with the film, the producers, or a movie studio. I'll give you an honest review.

The cast is well chosen and all do a good job acting. Mel Gibson is actually the weakest link and is just OK. Something about him doesn't register as being the character as convincingly as the past. Duhamel has charm but the shtick runs thin after a while as a con man and parts are exaggerated and unrealistic (rob a bank in 3 minutes, including prep and transit?) It doesn't ruin the film but it takes it down a notch and, unnecessarily. And then there are other scenese where there is just a total casualness in what should be a very tense situation.

The real challenge with this film is that it begins with him in a courtroom for a crime and then starts telling you his 4 year tale. It gets repetitive quickly and didn't need to stretch to 2+ hours. There isn't very much about how so many of these banks were hit, you just have to assume that they were really clueless and they were all done the same. There are also some character changes that don't feel 100% consistent, although it's not terrible.

Better than average. Not very revealing at all about the man himself, which would have been much more interesting than paper thin characters and a story you've seen much before.

Well made film about the flying bankrobber of canadian 80's, a ''catch me if you can'' kinda story about a peculiar and ever so impertinent and without any lack of fantasy big time criminal doing banks like it was the local store at the corner, played with bravissimus acts by josh duhamel, supported by elisha cuthbert and mel gibson.

Its not a technically advanced production, but it has thousands of takes and a storyboard that mustve been thick as a encyclopedia, so the editor departments must have had a sweaty job pulling the strings together.

Its a loose biographical action comedy, because the deeds done back then where just jawdropping, and the witty acts of mr duhamel saved at least my day at the laughterfront. A feature has been dealing with this story almost 30 years ago, so some may think this was overkill in the making, but forget that, this is the new version on the silverscreen, and you wont regret a peek in the darkness. If youre able to keep your laughs secret watching this, youre either dead or nearly there. The grumpy old man does not regret the pick, because impertinence ultimately works. So grab a lager and start spinning the rolls...

It's 1984. American petty criminal Gilbert Galvan Jr (Josh Duhamel) gets convicted in Detroit. He escapes minimum security prison and heads as far north as he can, Ottawa. He buys the identity of Robert Whiteman. He tries to go straight with Andrea (Elisha Cuthbert). After she gets pregnant, he goes back to his criminal ways. He would become one of Canada's most prolific bank robbers. Tommy Kay (Mel Gibson) is the local Ottawa crime boss and police detective John Snydes (Nestor Carbonell) means to take him down.

This is a crime comedy drama. They could probably do more with the comedy. Josh Duhamel is somewhat capable, but he's not enough to make this a fully comedic film. It's also over two hours long. The sporadic comedic moments get washed away with the long running time. The weirdest aspect is all the wrong names for everything. I get the legal niceties with the banks but there's no reason to name the provincial police as OPD. It makes this feel like an alternate universe movie. It's not surreal enough to be fun. It's caught somewhere in the middle. The filmmaking isn't great, but it's not actually bad. There is some fun in this.

If 5 stars was a movie, this would be it. Average acting, script, directing, editing, and clichéd story. It absolutely sticks between the lines of cool crime morality.

The protagonist is seen as charismatic, has a criminals morals (won't hurt real people or rob from the working person), tries to tow the line between a normal life and his criminal one, and (shock) gets pulled back in for "one last job". Bet you can't work out how that goes?

From the start to the last scene it's devoid of any creativity, flair, or any real missteps either. If you've seen enough of these movies you can literally guess the next cut or scene, It's as average as average gets.

Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant used to play this type of role and Josh Duhamel does a fine job with it, ably supported by Elisha Cuthbert and Mel Gibson. The movie amuses with a well-paced account of the bank robbing career of one of the all-time greats, Gilbert Galvan Jr., all around cosplayer and makeup artist. It's hard to believe it was this easy, but it's hard to argue with 59 successful armed robberies and $2.3 million. Hopefully, this film will not inspire imitators, even though stealing is virtually legal now in some jurisdictions. This sensible, good-natured film is worth one viewing.

To tell the truth I was hoping for more. From reading so many reviews I thought maybe it would be more serious, but it plays off as a soft comedy crime movie like Showtime. Which is fine, but can't someone please make a straight laced action movie, crime thriller, anything, please. It's worth a watch, but I usually avoid these immature production styles to film. Well acted on all accounts, just wish it wasn't produced as a crime dramedy. To those looking to a review to judge if they want to watch it, think of this film based on real life events as not being presented seriously, but rather a light fluff piece for the family.

Bandit is a kind of story not too bright, not too interesting and not too good but you will watch it anyway, even though you know how it's going to end.

Josh Duhamel is a fine actor but when he's given the main role he doesn't shine the way he's supposed to, both Elisha Cuthbert and Mel Gibson outshine him with ease, and I don't know why is that. Maybe the character he's playing is not that interesting to begin with so you don't really feel any connection to him. The whole story of the bandit feels more like it was mostly made up, with some sparkles of truth hidden here and there and popping on the screen while watching.

A two hour account of events is a long and bumpy road and I found myself looking at the clock not once - but was never bored. The story engages you enough to stay till the end but it also never shows you the reason you should see it as something deeper, something more meaningful than it is. Of course, it tells you about family values, and how important it is to remain loyal to your true self and your loved ones but it also tells you that people don't change and they can't escape from either justice or themselves which is a good enough message but it doesn't make it a good enough two hour story that you'd want to get back to.

Good solid movie about the true story of how a career con man and lucky escape artist stumbles upon how to rob banks and get away with it. Unlike so many other movies these days this is solidly made with good acting and solid direction and a good screenplay.

Mel Gibson is not on camera much, but his scenes hold the movie together very well as things progress in the life of the bandit. Seems that Mel these days is appearing in many of these action movies with a small but critical part. Unlike some others though, the movies he appear in are generally OK - not many duds.

The ending is a bit weak, but that is what actually happened and that was what they had to work with. Overall a very enjoyable movie to watch.

Thought this would be an interesting watch based on a real character but sadly I was not entertained. The pace was very slow and obviously the director and writer could not decide whether to make a comedy or a drama and in consequence made neither.

The film could have been good but was poorly scipted and somewhat disjointed. I got the feeling it was one of those subsidised 'make it what you want, arty is better than entertaining' though I could be wrong here. Just my opinion. Couldn't really recommend this one as it just meanders along, we all know where it is going and when it does get there it isn't really news.

This is one of those movies that makes you continue to watch because every little chapter leaves you on the edge. Josh Duhamel delivers which is one of the main reasons you're on his side from the very first moment on. Mel Gibson surely is the heavy caliber in this but unfortunately has not enough screentime for my taste. I just wished he was involved a lot more in the story, since his role is actually crucial.

However, there are some little problems with the story. All that Robert pulls off looks too easy, too much of a "kindergarten" deal. So in this regard, the realism could have been taken a bit more seriously to make the story more believable thus, this movie falls under the category funny-crime story. But all in all this is worth a watch and have good two hours.

I can't believe the positive reviews. From a horrible script. A laughable at of obvious plot holes. To the least believable acting I've ever seen, this is a top ten worst movie I've ever seen.

My favorite inconsistency was the house scene in northern Canada. It's clearly the middle of summer. A title appears, 18 months later. Making it winter in Canada. But it looks like the next day.

He supposedly has over a million dollars, in a crappy small house. Mel Gibson does up with a warning about something that was never part of the script and never resolved. Then we find out it's only to earn him about living beyond his means. Except somehow he's spent 80,000 a month with nothing to show and needs to go back for one more score! Work predictable results.

Waste of time to the maximum.

That is for sure - so no pun intended. Also this is based on a real person. I had not heard of or about him, but I do not know how popular or known this is in America. Without having seen the real person, casting Josh Duhamel as him ... is doing him a lot of favor surely ... can't be a bad thing that is for sure.

That said, the movie is another one Mel Gibson got his fingers into, just do not expect him to take the movie over. He does have some crucial scene overall ... and it is always nice to see him no matter what. Or how long he is available - curious to see if he finally will make Donners wish come true ... with another Lethal Weapon ... I am looking forward to it ... but back to this, it's by the numbers ... still the predictable stuff probably won't matter too much to you.

Lying Hollywood initially lies about the fact that it is based on facts. The film has nothing to do with real events and is an immoral glossy fake fiction for idle and stupid townsfolk.

The actors are hopelessly old and dull. The real "hero" was under 27 when it all started, and the actor is almost 50, not to mention his real wife...

People did not see anything that showed the real story of a person who got into the criminal world from his youth. Liars from Hollywood are not interested in this and in some ways they are very similar to crime from the film - to fly at the viewer with brilliance and luxury, grab the jackpot and run away, leaving behind moral fasting and decay ...

Do we need this kind of Hollywood? Definitely not.