Review - Daylight Robbery

Based on a true story, seven football enthusiasts use the World Cup as a cover for a bank heist. The group plan on stealing millions of pounds from a London Exchange Bank and getting away scott-free to attend the World Cup in Germany.

Directed by Paris Leonti, Daylight Robbery, feels much like Spike Lee's 'Inside Man' without alot of the cat & mouse games added in (watch for the Spike Lee plug too). It is a solid heist film that has strong dialogue, good character development, and a modest payoff. The actors within the crew deliver strong performances that match the megerly witty script. The problem with Daylight Robbery is a majority of the film feels real stagnant, spending way too much time accomplishing nothing. The film is set to release in the UK, August 29th, and has yet to receive a release date here in the US.

The entire cast feels like a supporting cast and no one really shines above the other in the UK film. Usually in a cast this large, it is hard for one member not to shine above the rest, but here each character has their own personailty and each shine while not taking away from the group performances. Justin Salinger is the eldest of the crew as Norman and seems to convey the fatherly figure in the group as their level-headed leader. Johnny Harris plays Terry, who is the muscle of the crew and Goeff Bell is Alex, the brains and second in charge to Norman. Chubbs played by Paul Nicholls is very pivotal to the film, however makes the film feel the most stagnant. The police chief and his a assistant are amusing in their roles played by Shaun Williamson and Rhys Meredith, but feel too dim-witted for the heist tale that it is based on.

My biggest problem with the 92 minute film, is a majority of Daylight Robbery feels like it goes nowhere. Like most heist films, an unforseen dilemma takes place once inside the bank and causes the crew to lose their cool. This plot development takes up far too much of the meat of the script and is ultimately tedious! Outside of that, I really liked Daylight Robbery. The story is good, the characters are strong and believable, the getaway is smart while not overachieving, and the overall enjoyment of the film is high. With no US date out, who knows when you'll get a chance to see it, but when it does release, its worth a watch.