The Art of the Steal (2014)
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Critics Consensus: It boasts a terrific cast led by the always-watchable Kurt Russell and Terence Stamp, but The Art of the Steal wastes its stars on a formulaic plot that borrows too obviously from superior heist pictures.
Critics Consensus: It boasts a terrific cast led by the always-watchable Kurt Russell and Terence Stamp, but The Art of the Steal wastes its stars on a formulaic plot that borrows too obviously from superior heist pictures.
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Crunch Calhoun (Kurt Russell), a third rate motorcycle daredevil and semi-reformed art thief, agrees to get back into the con game and pull off one final lucrative art theft with his untrustworthy brother, Nicky (Matt Dillon). Reassembling the old team, Crunch comes up with a plan to steal a priceless historical book, but the successful heist leads to another far riskier plan devised by Nicky. They fail to realize each other's separate agendas when their plan goes awry in this con comedy about … More- Rating:
- R (for language throughout including some sexual references)
- Genre:
- Comedy
- Directed By:
- Jonathan Sobol
- Written By:
- Jonathan Sobol
- In Theaters:
- Mar 14, 2014 Limited
- On DVD:
- May 6, 2014
- US Box Office:
- $61.4k
Cast
-
Kurt Russell
as Crunch Calhoun -
Jay Baruchel
as Francie Tobin -
Matt Dillon
as Nicky Calhoun -
Terence Stamp
as Samuel Winter -
Katheryn Winnick
as Lola -
Chris Diamantopoulos
as Guy de Cornet
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– Rotten Tomatoes
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LoginCritic Reviews for The Art of the Steal
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (24)
A derivative heist thriller-comedy that passes painlessly enough at a brisk 90 minutes, but ultimately feels as disposable as the numerous counterfeit paintings that exchange hands throughout.
An uneven, mildly amusing, and highly derivative flick featuring a wonderful, quirky cast as a crew of art thieves who run a complex scam on the art world, and on each other.
Matt Dillon and Kurt Russell may not make the most convincing half-brothers, but "The Art of the Steal" is a fairly amusing heist film with some sibling tension helping the story along.
Director Jonathan Sobol clearly understands the first rule of a good grift: misdirection. He packs his middling caper flick with so many known faces, it's easy to miss all the other familiarities.
Snappy, clever, broadly comedic and too obvious for words, of which there are many.
It's as if Sobol walked a tight-rope over the falls, got distracted by the view and then crawled back to safety.
With one contrived plot twist too many the final act descends into a fug of farce stealing the film's early promise.
Occasionally charming, yet completely unoriginal, this is dumb fun, no more, no less.
An appealing cast almost make the difference to this film, a sloppy half-hearted caper that never seems to break sweat.
An entertaining lark.
There's little that's unfamiliar about director Jonathan Sobol's switchbacking caper so he winningly cashes in on the strength of his cast, particularly Russell's world-weary con and a scene-stealing Stamp as the languidly insolent Brit.
Unsuccessfully marries the slick-suited jargoning of Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's trilogy with the gloves-off double-dealing of Guy Ritchie's early oeuvre.
Sobol ... borrows widely and unfashionably from the Guy Ritchie stylebook: he's either missed the trend by ten years or pre-empted the revival by 20.
Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon are short-changed by a script with a clever denouement that comes at the expense of the rest of the action, which is so self-consciously cool and vacuous, it's practically freeze-dried.
The strenuous presentation might remind you of Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, but the boisterous script has some legitimately amusing moments along the way ...
Kurt Russell returns in this blithely unambitious caper flick.
In the end, alas, it's the viewer who will leave feeling conned.
"The Art of the Steal" won't trick audiences into thinking they've seen anything new, but it's just clever enough to keep them distracted from realizing that they haven't.
There's only a moderate level of humor and suspense in this formulaic caper comedy that seems to borrow from a few genre predecessors.
There's more steal than art in 'The Art of the Steal,' a second-tier caper comedy-drama that pilfers its inspiration from such superior stories of crime and misdirection as 'The Usual Suspects' and 'Reservoir Dogs'...
A movie that scores by way owning its familiarity. If the plot specifics are basically a yawn, director Sobol wisely keeps seriousness at bay, infusing his effort with a springy energy.
There's an additional twist to the scheme, but it's fairly transparent to anyone who's seen more than a couple of con-man pictures. Indeed, the plot is so perfunctory and shrug-worthy that it seems to function primarily as an excuse to let the cast riff.
There are a handful of actors working today whose mere presence justifies whatever film they are in. Kurt Russell is at the top of a very short list for me, and has been so for decades.
Audience Reviews for The Art of the Steal
A tremendously enjoyable and twist filled comedy caper with a great cast that you cant help but love. A hilarious, stylish and wickedly entertaining movie from start to finish. It's fresh, fun, loaded with ideas and pays great homage to classics like The Sting and Oceans Eleven. The entire cast is fantastic and give funny and sharp performances. Kurt Russell, Jay Baruchel, Matt Dillon and Terence Stamp are excellent. Kenneth Welsh, Chris Diamantopoulos and Jason Jones are hilarious.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Super Reviewer
A light, never too serious Canadian art-heist comedy by Jonathan Sobol is only 90 minutes long, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Leading actor Kurt Russell is a part of a great team starring Jay Baruchel, Matt Dillon, Terence Stamp, Katheryn Winnick, Chris Diamantopoulos, Kenneth Welsh, Jason Jones, and with this bunch there is never fun or style lacking. Very fast pace with almost impossible plot, makes it simply lovable!
The story of Crunch Calhoun (Kurt Russell), a third rate motorcycle daredevil and semi-reformed art thief will take you around the world. He agrees to get back into the con game and pull off one final lucrative art theft with his untrustworthy brother, Nicky (Matt Dillon). Of course, reassembling the old team, Crunch comes up with a plan to steal a priceless historical book... after the successful heist, his brother suggest another far riskier plan. They fail to realize each other's separate agendas when their plan goes opposite direction in this con movie about honour. You will always feel the possibility of the hovering revenge but you won't be allowed to forget that somewhere there are bonds of brotherhood.
If you have a spare night to watch a fun movie, choose this!
Super Reviewer
Briskly paced, consistently funny, and just clever enough, The Art of the Steal is a film that tries very hard to emulate the best heist pictures. It doesn't fully succeed, but it does surpass what other similar films have tried to do, mainly by relying on its talented cast.
With Art of the Steal, we find an over-the-hill motorcycle daredevil and semi-retired art thief, Crunch Calhoun (Kurt Russell), thrust back in to the game for the heavily clichéd "last job", teaming up with his estranged brother. Like the best comedic heist films, namely Oceans, we find a unique cast of characters, all with their niches, and all with their quirky flaws.
Where the film succeeds is with its tone. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and it doesn't simply go through the motions either. It earnestly tries to be something different. The on-screen chemistry and banter among its cast is pretty excellent, with a solid script backing them up. The direction is energetic, and keeps the film at a very kinetic pace, in keeping with the overall feel of the film. The heist schemes themselves aren't always especially realistic, but are far more grounded than can be found in other heist films, with a solid attention to detail. Where the film got a bit misguided, however, was in the last act, trying to do too much, and getting caught up in its own supposed cleverness. Still, it boasts a great cast, consistent humor, and a plot that keeps you engaged.
Solid all around. 3.5/5 Stars
Super Reviewer
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