Full of action and suspense, Heist is above all a gratifyingly adult entertainment.
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11/09/01
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Heist (2001)
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Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:125
Fresh:82
Rotten:43
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: Heist didn't cover any new ground, but the cast and Mamet's expertise with witty banter make it worthwhile.
Theatrical Release:Nov 9, 2001 Wide
Box Office: $23,287,872
Synopsis: Written and directed by David Mamet, HEIST is a crime thriller that follows aging master thief Joe Moore (Gene Hackman) as he plans one last robbery before literally sailing off into the sunset.... [More]
Starring: Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Ricky Jay
Director: David Mamet
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Reviews for Heist
Top CriticHeist isn't nearly as teasingly clever as Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner or House of Cards, but it does show Hackman at the top of his game.
11/09/01
Heist is smart, beautifully written, wonderfully plotted and brought to life by a terrific cast. We're not sure it gets much better than that.
11/09/01
There are dialogue-driven scenes in this movie that will blow you away -- nobody writes like Mamet at the top of his game.
11/09/01
Essentially a genre piece overdecorated with phrases, quirks and narrative slipknots with a mannered look-at-me cleverness.
11/09/01
Top CriticIf it piles on more psychological fake-outs than is safe in a setup this size -- well, at least it's got that talk, that language, that thing Mamet does that is at this point as identifiable as the cadences of the Bard.
11/09/01
Top CriticYeah, things spiral out of control toward the bloated ending, but the film's wonderfully barbed nature keeps this sting sharp.
11/09/01
Rare for Mamet, that talk here sometimes comes off as strained and awkward, or as a slightly highbrow variation on the usual hackneyed bon mots of generic action films.
11/09/01
Top CriticOnce you recognize that each new development is nothing more than a prelude to another con, any sense of tension is moot.
11/09/01
Heist is the kind of caper movie that was made before special effects replaced wit, construction and intelligence.
11/09/01
Top CriticYou'll need 10 minutes to learn the pattern of David Mamet's The Heist, after which it will become a typical shallow caper film.
11/09/01
Revisits a lot of old turf, but brings the welcome dimension of Hackman, Lindo, and Jay.
11/09/01
As clever as Heist is at times, it often seems to outsmart itself -- that is, there's at least one plot twist (and character twist) too many, and too many scenes rely on contrivances that strain credibility.
11/09/01
There is some clever dialogue and a few neat little twists, but the crosses, double crosses, and triple crosses go on for so long, it gets to be a bit too much.
11/08/01
Heist is satisfying in other ways, particularly seeing the terrific cast ... chew at Mamet's dialogue like Hollywood film actors starved for substance.
11/08/01
Heist is a phoned-in job.
11/08/01
Mamet doesn't just give us an enthralling heist flick, he makes the language something to savor.
11/08/01
Top CriticPassable but never exciting.
11/08/01
Top CriticNot nearly as clever or engrossing as the best of Mamet's numerous neo-film noir scripts.
11/08/01
For fans of The Sting and other classic cons, this will sound like jackpot time. For others, who prefer their capers less tidy or self-consciously clever, this exercise may carry all the excitement of a drugged mouse in a maze.
11/08/01
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