Review: 'How to Rob a Bank' is a fun heist movie that occasionally gets in its own way

LOS ANGELES — There is something about a good heist movie that I love.

Maybe it's the elaborate plans, the unexpected twists or watching a group of criminals attempt to pull off something that should be impossible. Or maybe it's just they all always look so cool, and despite sincere efforts, the last 40-plus years I have never managed to be cool.

Whatever the reason, I like a good heist movie.

"How to Rob a Bank" isn't going to join the ranks as one of my favorites, but I had a pretty good time with it.

It's clever, funny and has some genuinely entertaining moments. It also has a few problems that keep it from being as good as it could have been.

But sometimes having a good time at the movies is enough.

What's it about?

"How to Rob a Bank" follows a group of bank robbers whose criminal activities are connected to a popular online content creator.

The film mixes traditional bank-heist action with the world of online videos and social media, giving a familiar genre a modern twist.

There are plenty of moving parts, some clever schemes and a few surprises along the way. I'll leave the details there because discovering how everything fits together is part of the fun.

John C. Reilly steals the show

There are several things I enjoyed about "How to Rob a Bank," but the biggest was John C. Reilly.

I've been a fan of Reilly for years. He's got a talent for making even the strangest characters feel like actual people.

He's on point here. Not the goofy characters we may recognize, but more grounded, but nonetheless interesting and likable.

His chemistry with Zoë Kravitz is especially good, and some of their scenes together were my favorite parts of the movie.

They play off each other so naturally that I found myself looking forward to their next interaction. There is humor in their exchanges, but there's also something more interesting going on beneath the surface.

The movie is at its best when it gives these two room to work.

The robberies are a lot of fun

Of course, you can't make a movie called "How to Rob a Bank" without delivering some entertaining bank robberies.

The robberies are creative and often pretty funny. I liked watching the different plans unfold and seeing how the characters dealt with unexpected problems.

This is where the movie finds its rhythm. It knows how to have fun with its premise, and the combination of clever planning and unpredictable circumstances makes for some entertaining sequences.

I also liked the way the movie incorporates YouTube-style videos into the story.

They're more than just a gimmick. They actually matter to what's happening, and the filmmakers find some clever ways to use them.

One sequence in particular, featuring an instructional video intercut with interrogations taking place on screen, is especially well done.

It's probably my favorite example of the movie taking its central idea and doing something genuinely creative with it.

Unfortunately, not all the videos work quite as well.

A few go on longer than they need to, and I found myself wishing we could get back to the actual story. The joke or point had already landed, but the video kept going.

It's not a major problem, but it does interrupt the momentum occasionally.

I needed a little more from the characters

My biggest issue with "How to Rob a Bank" wasn't the action or the humor, but the people.

More specifically, I didn't care enough about some of them early on.

The film introduces its bank-robbing team and gets things moving fairly quickly, which makes sense for this kind of movie. But while I was entertained by what they were doing, I wasn't particularly invested in who was doing it.

Eventually, we get more background and some welcome depth to the characters. We begin to understand their motivations and what makes them tick.

The problem is that it takes a little too long to get there.

By the time I started feeling invested in some of these people, we'd already spent a good chunk of the movie together.

And even then, a few characters remain shallow.

I don't need every character in a heist movie to have a complicated backstory or an emotional monologue explaining their childhood. But I do want a reason to care whether they succeed, fail or get caught.

For a while, "How to Rob a Bank" seemed more interested in showing me how clever its characters were than giving me a reason to care about them.

A little too close to reality?

There's one other aspect of this movie that I found interesting, and maybe a little concerning.

The film explores the influence a popular content creator can have on people and how easily entertainment can encourage behavior in the real world.

That's an interesting idea, and the movie uses it well.

But I also couldn't help thinking about how some people might respond to what they're watching.

Now, I'm not suggesting a movie about robbing banks is suddenly going to create a generation of bank robbers. We've been watching criminals pull off elaborate heists on screen for decades, and most of us have managed to resist the temptation.

But I'm also the father of a 13-year-old boy, and I was once a teenage boy myself.

Let's just say I remember enough of my teenage decision-making to know that common sense isn't always the first thing to show up.

When you combine the influence of online personalities with the appeal of doing something outrageous for attention, I can see how the wrong person might take the wrong message from a movie like this.

Am I losing sleep over it? No.

But I do think it's an interesting conversation, especially when the movie itself is exploring just how powerful that influence can be.

What parents should know

"How to Rob a Bank" earns its R rating.

There is frequent strong language, drug use, and a fair amount of violence throughout the film. There is also a prolonged love scene that doesn't feature nudity but is still fairly suggestive.

This isn't a movie for younger audiences, and parents should be aware that the criminal behavior is often presented in an entertaining and appealing way.

Conclusion

"How to Rob a Bank" isn't a great heist movie, but it is an entertaining one.

John C. Reilly is fantastic, his scenes with Zoë Kravitz are a highlight, and the robberies offer enough creativity and fun to keep things moving.

I wish the filmmakers had spent a little more time developing the characters earlier and a little less time on some of the videos. With a stronger emotional connection to the people involved, I think this could have been something special.

Instead, it's a movie with some really good moments, a few frustrating ones and enough charm to make the whole experience worthwhile.

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