User reviews

Yet another account of the 2015 Hatton Garden robbery that was pulled off by a bunch of geriatric career criminals, and which seems to hold a strange fascination for filmmakers and audiences alike. This one benefits from a stellar British cast (Caine, Winstone, Broadbent, Courteney, Gambon, Whitehouse) and its decision to focus on the disintegration of the gang's initial cameraderie almost as soon as the heist is underway rather than playing safe with unrealistic feel-good vibes. The real gang were unpleasant men, and to portray them as anything else would be a whitewash. Caine is finally showing his age (he's barely seen moving throughout) but still delivers, as do the rest of the veteran players.

A passable and down to earth presentation of the true story of the Hatton Garden Heist with a cast of big names, but little else. Although it shows the thieves as doddering old fools, it also shows them as bitter and greedy career criminals and as such, you can't really root for them, especially when they devolve into squabbling. There's a good sequence as it shows the effort put in to successfully carry out the robbery, but the whole thing lacks drama, and the police investigation in the second half has no personality to it.

As we all knew how it ends, there were no surprises for me. Good acting but I agree with the comments about the lack of back story.

The film is inspired from the true story of the Hatton Garden heist (thus, the script is already half-written) and the main actors are usually excellent. Despite this excellent a priori, the global result is bland, dull and devoid of passion. So boring that I was almost sleepy. As a synthesis: frustrating!

No, there are no big car chases, or explosions. No fancy lasers, or big combat scenes. However, it is a fun story of aging burglars looking to score their final hurrah, portrayed by a slew of veteran actors who still have the skills to go from dottering elder to angry thug. Loved the use of the clips from their previous films as flashbacks. It was a refreshing change from CGI or Photoshop aging.

"King of Thieves" is a Biography - Crime movie in which we watch a heist in London's jewelry district that is based on the Hatton Garden diamond heist that occurred in April 2015.

I enjoyed this movie because it is based on a true story, the plot was very interesting and there were some plot twists that made it even more interesting. The interpretations of Michael Caine who played as Brian Reader, Jim Broadbent who played as Terry Perkins, Charlie Cox who played as Basil, Ray Winstone who played as Danny Jones and Tom Courtenay who played as Kenny Collins were very good and their combination worked very well. The direction which was made by James Marsh was good and he presented the story in a very good way while he presented his main characters well enough to understand them and follow the story. In conclusion, I have to say that "King of Thieves" is an interesting movie and I highly recommend you to watch it.

This film very much feels like a metaphor for the actors themselves, one last go at making some money and it all going wrong.

The film didn't know what it wanted to be, a gritty crime drama or last of the summer wine.

No back story on the gang at all apart from 10 seconds of old footage. We're rushed into the heist scene and before you know it it's all done and dusted. That leaves time for endless squabbling of characters you don't really know anything about.

A strange casting with Michael Gambon, arguably the best actor there - cast as a bumbling idiot. Jim Broadbent playing the nasty hard man, which just doesn't suit him given the film's we're all used to seeing him in.

Ray Winston was good and played well throughout the film, but again a very tenuous relationship to the gang and zero back story makes it hard to get involved with the characters.

The production quality for me was also let down, had the feel of a low budget tv drama, though I suspect this is because they clearly blew the budget on the cast.

I'd save this one for a long haul flight or when it's free on Amazon.

Compare and contrast, if you will, two 2018 cinematic releases that are based upon actual events.

Bart Layton's American Animals, is a tale of young impressionable college students who, by way of an attempted heist at their own University library, aimed to get rich quick whilst simultaneously making a name for themselves, whereas James Marsh's King of Thieves, chronicles the still relatively fresh-in-the-memory events of the jewellery heist that transpired down on London's Hatton Garden, back in 2015.

Whilst both films are similar in their subject matter, it's the manner in which the respective protagonists go about their nefarious deeds that couldn't be any more different.

In Layton's American Animals, a combination of anxiety, lack of experience and a general naivety ultimately prove to be the boys' undoing, whereas Michael Caine and his grizzly cohorts couldn't really have been any more lackadaisical in their approach if they'd tried.

At least that's how they're depicted.

Just how close to the truth such a depiction actually is, only Brian, Basil, Billy, Terry, Danny and John will know. And that is of course assuming that they've somehow managed to watch Marsh's film from behind the bars of their respective prison cells.

One would suspect that they probably have.

Authentic depiction or not, one thing is certain, King of Thieves is high on entertainment, and in Michael Caine, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone and Tom Courtenay, Marsh's film boasts a stella cast portraying masterfully this long-in-the-tooth gang of career criminals. Lock Stock and Six Smoking Pensioners.... And Charlie Cox... if you will.

Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

Admittedly it is possibly a little harsh to lump Paul Whitehouse into that pensioner bracket together with the rest of Dad's Army. Mr Whitehouse, at a mere sixty tender years of age, is after all a good decade or so younger than the majority of his fellow cast members here. Then again, he does now officially qualify for a free bus pass. So, let's just say he's in on a technicality.

We digress...

Perhaps it's down to the casting of so many recognisable 'national treasures' in Marsh's film, but there's definitely a generous sense of empathy that's generated towards this 'loveable' gang of rogues as they go about their business with their collective carefree, bordering on languid approach to the task.

Been there, seen it, done it.

Oh, but how things change when the cracks begin to appear and the problems mount up, laying bare the rather ugly traits of greed, power and duplicity for all to see.

Indeed, it's quite the transformation watching the likes of serial nice guy Jim Broadbent morph from a cuddly old bugger into something of a devious back stabber, though this is not exactly new territory for Broadbent if one casts one's mind back far enough. His tremendous portrayal of uber-snide Detective Chief Inspector Roy Slater in John Sullivan's timeless sitcom, Only Fools and Horses, remains to this day one of his most convincing and memorable roles.

Though it arguably lacks a little 'oomph', in certain places, King of Thieves is nevertheless tremendous fun, with a strong emphasis on the comedic element of what, presumably, would have actually been a very serious undertaking for all involved.

What King of Thieves may lack in pace and energy it more than makes up for by way of the on-screen chemistry between the cast members who, it's unimaginable to consider, weren't having an absolute blast in making this film.

Not a classic by any means, but one that will probably sufficiently please both fans of the heist movie genre and nostalgia buffs, alike.

This and hundreds of other films are reviewed on my WaywardWolfBlog

"King of Thieves" is a movie based on a daring robbery in April, 2015 where a group of mostly elderly men managed to steal between 13-15 million British pounds. Oddly, however, the film is far from compelling and a bit of a disappointment.

The cast includes many excellent elderly British actors..Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay and Michael Gambon among others. However, the film just never worked for me for one huge reason....there was no reason given to like or care about these nasty old men. In most of the great heist films, there is a hook...a reason to either care about the men or hate the folks about to be robbed so that you pull for the criminals. Here, however, there is no compelling reason...none. And, if they didn't provide that, perhaps it could have worked with an injection of humor....but this was something clearly lacking in the movie. With the actors involved, I really wanted to love the film but found myself curiously disconnected and bored. Not a terrible film but one that simple wastes the talents of these great actors.

By the way, as a history teacher I usually hate when true stories are embellished...I want the plain unvarnished truth. But considering the amount they stole was changed ten fold in the story, why not further embellish it to make it interesting?

It's about a bunch of old guys who performed a robbery so don't expect fast and furious. It's well acted and has some very subtle funny moments. Courtney is very good in his role.

I'm still baffled how anyone can take a true story, gather a list of very talented actors, and then come up with such slow, dull and disappointing film. I actually fell asleep briefly, halfway through.

The wealth of acting talent and experience prompted me to want to see this, coupled with an interest in the real life story.

I'm stunned to read people find this slow, it's hardly designed as an action packed thriller. It's the telling of real life events. I thoroughly enjoyed it, the story is intriguing, the acting is first rate, plus it contains some very humorous moments.

It begins off in quite a light hearted way, it's jolly and funny, but oncr the deed is done, it takes on a more serious tone, the laughs are fewer, and the true greed of the characters comes out.

Excellent performances, Caine, Gambon, Courtenay and Winstone all excellent, but for me it was Jim Broadbent who stole the show, he was superb. Francesca Annis was lovely in it, though sadly not for very long.

It's not a classic, but well worth seeing for the wealth of acting talent. 8/10

This is reportedly based on the 2015 Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary which took place over the long Easter weekend. A group of old time criminals are gathered by Brian Reader (Michael Caine). His son Basil (Charlie Cox) works a straight job as a fibre optics technician who comes to him with an idea to rob safe deposit boxes in the diamond district. He gathers a crew of old timers, Terry Perkins (Jim Broadbent), John Kenny Collins (Tom Courtenay), Carl Wood (Paul Whitehouse), Danny Jones (Ray Winstone), and Billy "The Fish" Lincoln (Michael Gambon).

I love these old geezers and I generally love caper movies. This is not an elaborate scheme but I do love the simplicity. There are issues with this crew. They talk way too loud, way too publicly, and way too carelessly about their criminal exploits. It's a deliberate choice by the movie and it could work with some reasonable changes. I like that the cops are nameless and voiceless as they track down and investigate the robbery. I would have made all those scenes into a montage after the crew is arrested. That way most of the movie would make it seem like they are escaping with the loot. Only afterwards would their capture be revealed to be inevitable. I also like the ten seconds of old movies where the younger versions of the old geezers look like thugs. Here's the thing. I laughed when Jim Broadbent gets tough. It's so against his type that it's hilarious and I love it. There are issues and I would definitely make other editing choices. Overall, I love these old dudes.

The star-studded cast is woefully let down by an appalling script and even weaker direction. What on earth were they thinking?

They are visibly just going through the motions, not even trying to make the best of the painfully tedious lines they are given. The scriptwriter should be shot - no amount of rhyming slang and over the top obscenities can poke some life into this dog's dinner of a film.

Do not waste your money on going to see it.

I watched this movie at home on DVD from my local library. The cast features several of the best older British actors.

If you look up the 2015 Great Hatton Garden heist you will see that this movie pretty closely portrays what happened. The average age of the perpetrators was 69. The first half of the movie is for planning and carrying out the heist, over an Easter weekend. The second half is the surveillance that eventually identified them and allowed their capture.

Not a great movie but an interesting one, based on real people and real events.

There were mixed reviews but with this story and line up I couldn't resist seeing and taking my dad. I am glad I did. Yes the characters weren't the lovable diamond geezers and I appreciated this. There is no honour in thieves and the messes they were pretty much all in in their lives was much more true to reality.

A good story and fundamentally a film carried by Ray, Michael, Tom, Jim and Paul. I laughed out loud at several places and the whole thing was a worthy and fun journey. The banter won and I felt at home with the "blokes". 7/10

I don't normally write a review but I felt it necessary in this case. For a start, the film is unbelievably dull and very slow paced. The only really exciting bit is the heist and even that has its low points. Great acting but otherwise not worth watching. Also lots of swearing! Normally I don't mind but it was just distracting and it seemed as though the writers didn't know what other dialogue to use

As someone who doesn't overly enjoy true crime, this film was a tough watch. Amazing performances by all involved create characters that you truly have no empathy or like for. The heist takes second stage in a film where you finish despising Caine and co.

Anyone expecting the anti-hero Charlie Croker from The Italian Job will be disappointed. The cast do a fine job of being fully unpleasant. I cheered come the credits.

Some of my favourite old time brittish actors, so this should have been red hot with lots of clever banter, instead just a lot of swearing, bad script, really dodgy music from an era that was rich in great music. Someone should make it again but do a proper job.

For those who say this movie is slow and low budget: what did you expect? This is not Transformers, there is no Mark Wahlberg or Bruce Willis from the 90's, no CGI, no John Woo feat. Michael Bay. This is just a well delivered true story, brought to you by many of the best actors of our time. And it does not want to be more, so why do you?

Heist movie based on a true story where the true story seems much more interesting than this boring and uninspired tale. It's a wonder that with such a stellar cast you could make a movie full of uninteresting characters and make one of the biggest robberies in UK history seem like a boring and light affair. There's something wrong with this movie that I can't quite put my finger on, but I think it has to do with the fact that they transformed this story into a light comedy and then tried to correct course by making it a bit more serious but by doing so the movie feels very inconsistent and you just don't care for the outcome of the heist. Didn't like it at all.