
Stander
2003, Drama/History, 1h 56m
63 Reviews 5,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
An unsatisfying account of Stander's life. Read critic reviews
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Where to watch
Stander Photos
Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Andre Stander
Lee McCall
Allan Heyl
Bekkie Stander
Cor van Deventer
General Stander
Critic Reviews for Stander
Audience Reviews for Stander
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Oct 19, 2012Stander represents the early days of what has been a very interesting period of South African film making. Great action and use of music and camera work to bring out the best in the performers.John B Super Reviewer
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Apr 07, 2012Thomas Jane has not been good in any film that I've ever seen him in, and I've seen quite a few. "Stander" proved me wrong; not only it the best performance of his career, but it's just an all-around great performance. He provides us with a sturdy and well-developed character. On top of that, "Stander" is engaging, exciting, involving, and unquestionably well-made. It's been a long time since I've watched a movie where I haven't checked the clock once at least once and with "Stander", I wasn't bored a single time. Now, there a couple of instances where it gets a little silly, but overall, "Stander" is a great film. Highly recommended.
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Aug 16, 2010Genre: Crime. Based on real life story. IMDb Rating: Above 7. Well, that was enough to set me going. But the experience was mixed. The script & screenplay isn't up-to-date here; it fails in properly fictionalizing the facts. Some of the sub-plots created to support the story at a later stage are too unconvincing. After having killed an unarmed protesting citizen in a riot, Andre Stander, one of the captains of the riot squad, asks to free himself from that duty. He was already getting sick of the corruption around him & this riot event only worsened the matters for him. In the midst of this crisis, he begins to rob banks, but eventually gets arrested. He manages to escape, though, with a partner, & later manages to get one more of his inmates out. The three start robbing banks, which soon gains media's attention & the trio is thereby referred to as 'The Stander Gang' by the media & hence the public at large. After a while, Stander feels that he should escape with his wife. But his wife disapproves of his actions, saying: ?There?s not a thinking man among us that doesn?t want to blow this place to smithereens from time to time. But we don?t. We find other ways.? Despite of this, he plans an escape, to be followed by a final heist, with his partners. But do things work out the way they?d planned? While the first half was good enough, much of the second half was messy. I'm not saying that the second half was absolute crappy. It had its highs & lows, but the lows were far more than the highs. One of the protagonists says: "We've written a pretty good story so far. Why not a perfect ending?" But the ending wasn't that great either. The creation of the South Africa in the 80s era is done quite well, though. Thomas Jane is exceptional. The way he plays this complicated character is amazing. Deborah Unger is excellent. Dexter Fletcher & David O'Hara are passable. All in all, the movie works in parts & is worth a shot for those parts, IMO. 6.5/10.
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Nov 21, 2007Great character piece and early performance by Thomas JaneKen S Super Reviewer
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