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Bandits (2001)

tomatometer

65

Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 139
Fresh: 90 | Rotten: 49

The story may not warrant its lengthy running time, but the cast of Bandits makes it an enjoyable ride.

58

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Critic Reviews: 36
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 15

The story may not warrant its lengthy running time, but the cast of Bandits makes it an enjoyable ride.

audience

56

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 57,956

My Rating

Movie Info

Director Barry Levinson follows up the low-budget An Everlasting Piece (2000) with another comedy, this one of the homegrown variety from former Twin Peaks (1990) TV series writer Harley Peyton. Bruce Willis stars as suave bank robber Joe, who has escaped from prison with his hypochondriac buddy Terry (Billy Bob Thornton). Together, the two men have devised a clever scheme to take a bank officer hostage the night before a heist, then simply escort the executive to work early the next morning

PG-13,

Drama, Comedy

Harley Peyton

Apr 2, 2002

$41.2M

MGM Pictures - Official Site External Icon

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Cast

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All Critics (157) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (94) | Rotten (50) | DVD (28)

Thornton and Willis save the day with their performances.

November 6, 2002 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

I like movies that don't settle into a groove, especially if the groove is already well worn. But the different kinds of movies that make up Bandits are pretty worn, too.

January 22, 2002 Full Review Source: New York Magazine
New York Magazine
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It's just about impossible not to fall for the ingratiating trio, especially Thornton's Terry.

January 6, 2002
Washington Post
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What started as cute becomes cloying and bloated.

October 18, 2001
Rolling Stone
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The movie has a one-take feel about it, containing vast stretches where nothing much happens. The cinematography looks amateurish, often badly composed and poorly lit.

October 12, 2001 Full Review Source: Toronto Star
Toronto Star
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Levinson must think he's on safe ground morally by keeping Bandits bloodless, as if the absence of carnage somehow makes kidnapping and armed robbery wholesome.

October 12, 2001 Full Review Source: Slate
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Adults will get this movie, but kids won't.

December 22, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

Terrible. A substitute for sleep medication that's so self-indulgent and plodding, it drove four people out of my screening midway through.

August 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

A hybrid crime-comedy that unsuccessfully tries to blend classic screwball comedy (the Preston Sturges brand), romantic triangles (Jules et Jim, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), and character-driven crimers (a la Bonnie and Clyde).

March 31, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

There's good on-screen chemistry, good acting, and an incredibly well written and clever ending.

December 31, 2005 Full Review Source: Supercala.com
Supercala.com

Bandits' most intriguing plot line, the three-way love story, merely hints at the complexity of a two-man/one-woman relationship and never moves past the initial stages of cuteness and adolescent eroticism.

September 30, 2003 Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com
ToxicUniverse.com

comedy, a great cast, an intelligent script, but a weak ending.

September 27, 2003 Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs
Three Movie Buffs

The Odd Couple meets Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Fairly fresh and fun, if ultimately fleeting entertainment.

February 17, 2003 Full Review Source: Entertainment Today
Entertainment Today

As the eponymous bandits, tough-guy Willis, with his usual array of slanted smirks and horrendous hairpieces, is easily outshone by the versatile Thornton.

February 13, 2003 Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

Audience Reviews for Bandits

Of course, Bandits is not one of the best film ever, but presents a nice script, a good cast and a very good performance by Thornton. Bandits, also, most have not much material to present in 122 minutes, problem that could make the movie stay a little boring. Fresh.
March 20, 2012
Lucas Martins

Super Reviewer

Bandits is the story of two criminals who one day impulsively escape from prison and decided to embark on a series of bank robberies to fund their plan of retiring in paradise down in Mexico. Joe (Willis) is the more charismatic and cool one, while Terry (Thornton) is a neurotic, hypochondriac with a number of quirks and phobias, one of which (fear of antique furniture) is something Thornton deals with in real life.

Joe and Terry enlist the help of Joe's goofy aspiring stunt man relative Harvey (Garity) to be their get away driver. It's not long before the criminals become media sensations dubbed the Sleepover Banditss due to their M.O. of putting the managers of the targeted banks on house arrest the night before the job.

Things go fine enough until a chance encounter with a distraught, bored, and desperae runaway housewife named Kate (Blanchett) tags along, getting into an awkward love triangle with Joe and Terry that could threaten to really throw things off balance.

PLotwise, there's a few nice little twists, turns, and touches that help the movie stand out a bit. Mostly though, it's just a little standard. The film tries to be a crime dramedy, but more often than not, it's seems unsure of what it really wants to be, becoming meandering, uneven tonally, and unfocused. Also, the film is structed as a flash back flashforward frame story, and, while it doesn't ruin the film, it doesn't keep it from getting bloated either. The plot device with the America's Most Wanted style show seems like it's aiming for satire, but mostly reminded me of Natural Born Killers which did the same sort of thing, and far better.

I enjoyed this movie. It's fun, entertaining, has some decent location shooting in Oregon, good cinematography from veteran Dante Spinotti, and some solid performances from the likeable and talented cast. None of the work these people put in ranks among their respective bests, but they're all still solid nonetheless.

I liked the quirkiness and the banter, but the movie seemed like it was trying too hard. Plus, I think Levinson had some really good ideas, but decided to use them all, resulting in a movie that should be tighter and more concise, but isn't.

All in all, this is a flawed movie, but it's well meaning. I've seen far more derivative capers than this, and, even though this one has issues, thankfully the cnematogrpahy, locations, and performances are strong enough to carry it. This really could have been something quite terrific. Instead it's merely just "not bad". Still though, it's got enough good stuff to warrant a viewing.
April 16, 2007
cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

    1. Terry Collins: Ducks and beavers.
    – Submitted by Joe M (13 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Banditen! (DE)
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