Released theatrically in only 141 theaters on September 14, 2012 - this Simon West action
thriller failed to even break a third-of-a-million dollars at the domestic box office.
In a plot that feels familiar, and borrowed from better films, Nicolas Cage stars as a
professional bank robber, who must pay off a $10 million dollar ransom to save his kidnapped
daughter: by robbing a bank, while the feds attempt to track him down.
The normally competent West sadly delivers a lackluster picture here, which aside from
a stirring opening heist sequence, is noticeably devoid of any realism or seriousness, which
treats themes of child abandonment, kidnapping, robbery, and betrayed friendship like they're
nothing but boxes on the "action movie checklist".
The Oscar-winning leading man would normally be right at home shouting lines of ridiculous
exposition, and outrunning explosions... but even Cage's unique talent is wasted here.
The same goes for the normally terrific cast, which includes Malin Akerman as the loyal
love interest, and Mark Valley and Danny Huston as the ass-kicking, no compromising federal
officials -- all of whom deserved so much more than this tepid, and unambitious script.
The standout exception is Josh Lucas as the lunatic mad-men villain, hell-bent on revenge...
looking like a ragged homeless man with a missing leg, who drives Cage's daughter around
in the trunk of his stolen taxi for nearly the entire movie.
His delusional delivery and psychotic behavior make him an interesting, if unbelievable villain.
Filmed, and
set on location in New Orleans, for no other reason than to include a pointless chase sequence
amdist the Mardi Gras parades, the locations and surroundings are painful underutilized,
with many scenes taking place in drab, uninteresting parking garages and alleyways.
Even at 96 minutes, this sloppy adventure doesn't move fast enough to prevent you from
laughing at the absurd plot, with Akerman warning, "there's no way you can steal millions
of gold bricks in the middle of a business day"... "that's why I need your help!" he
foolishly replies; as if his attractive co-star could actually help pull off such a scheme
in only three hours...
*while* the FBI is hunting him.
With music score from Mark Isham that feels borrowed from an extremely cheap, and dated
even the action scenes are uninspired and forgettable.
Not to be confused with the 2009 mystery-thriller of the same name, which amusingly also stars
Josh Lucas -- this movie honestly had potential...
an interesting, if unrealistic premise, a great cast, an accomplished director, and
some high-octane stunts and fist-fights.
Ironically though, this movie isn't "so bad it's good", unintentional entertainment...
instead bordering on a line that just makes it a boring experience lacking any genuine
thrills or excitement.
Technically speaking this film is decent: the cinematography, editing, and pacing are
what you'd expect for a film that cost $35 million to produce.
When I first review the trailer for picture back in September for the Movie Night Archive,
my first thought that this was almost some sort of parody film, a joke about how silly
and repetitive Cage's rampant project choices have become, perhaps not surprisingly though:
this movie really did happen.
Thankfully though, it doesn't seem as if anyone watched.
Although generally a below-average waste of time, this movie isn't completely uninteresting...
"Stolen", a "Unrealistic, lukewarm action, disappointingly pedestrian".
Those are my thoughts, now let's see what you had to say in the YouTube comments.
A double THREE for "Stolen"... of the few of you who actually wasted time and/or money
on this picture, you spared it from the lowest rungs on the rate-o-matic, citing that it's
still somewhat entertaining, even though it feels like a poor man's "Taken", rating it
a LAME.
I agree: this is a perfect example of a film that I will never watch again, but strangely,
don't actually regret watching, if only because Cage is always enjoyable in a weird way - and
Lucas makes for a fun bad guy.
I still thought this movie was LAME though.