Python Hyena
Armored (2009): Dir: Nimrod Antal / Cast: Columbus Short, Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, Lawrence Fishburne, Fred Ward: Standard action farce about bravery and recklessness. A crew of armored transport guards plan to rob millions from their own company but as predicted, everything that can go wrong, does including that witness that gets shot. Directed by Nimrod Antal who can shoot action but this film presents nothing really new or interesting. Even the production values showcase nothing new or interesting to resonate any excitement or care. Columbus Short is one of the few redeeming elements as a guard struggling to make ends meet, yet refuses to assist in the heist. Matt Dillon plays his long time friend and co- worker who sympathizes with Short's issues and promises that his fears will not happen. These two friends will be at odds as to the plan and will cat and mouse each other but the resolution is less than flattering. Jean Reno and Laurence Fishburne play fellow transport guards but they are totally cardboard. The rest of the characters are pretty much there to die at some point while trying to locate and kill Short. This film could have played out a theme regarding brotherhood and friendship but it seems poised only as an action violence flick at its very lowest. The result is standard action junk that should be crushed by an armored truck. Score: 3 / 10
mo24777
If you liked 'Training Day' you will love this movie. In the day and age when money conflicts with morality, a couple of money transporters decide they want to TAKE the take. The story brings elements from character abilities to bring a realistic sense of flowing action. I really enjoyed this film. Even though it might seem that the main characters actions are too ballsy, it raises the awareness of human morality and how certain external circumstances can have an affect on people. I might over exaggerate about how good the movie may be, but I was surprised, even though it started off with great actors 'Lawerence Fishburne' 'Matt Dillon' you don't always expect great actors to make great films which is what I thought at first when it started, but each cast member played a great designated role.
Scott LeBrun
In this heist-gone-wrong thriller, Columbus Short plays Ty, an Iraq War veteran who's now working for an armoured transport security company. He's trying mightily to provide for, and supervise, his troubled kid brother Jimmy (Andre Kinney), and adding to his problems are the debts & two mortgages their parents weren't able to resolve before they died. Considering that he could be about to lose the brother to foster services, and the house to the bank, Ty ultimately agrees to help his co-workers in the theft of a whopping 42 million dollars. Co-worker Mike (Matt Dillon) promises him nobody will get hurt, so Ty reluctantly gets on board. Of course, many of us have seen movies like this before, so we can guarantee that this supposedly clever plan is not going to go well. Clearly the guards didn't think it out too well, and their actions become more depraved, and the blood starts flowing. Whatever flaws there may be in the script, it's made up in part by capable direction by Nimrod Antal ("Kontroll", "Vacancy") and superb pacing. The movie is still action-packed, suspenseful, and compelling in its consistently ugly way; we go from liking these guys and sort of hoping that they might pull this off to detesting them and hoping that they get whats coming to them. The worst of the bunch is the impulsive, trigger happy Baines (Laurence Fishburne). Ty's not the only one with something of a conscience, but the members of the team find their time is short once their guilt starts getting to them. Dillon fares best as the heist planner who goes from being charismatic to being an out-and-out psycho; he's fun and in fine form. The cast also includes Skeet Ulrich, Amaury Nolasco, Milo Ventimiglia, Fred Ward, and a rather wasted Jean Reno. Basically this is grim stuff that at least succeeds on a visceral level, but that conclusion is too ridiculous to believe. Seven out of 10.
cattrelc
Here's the thing. This movie is not great. The character development is lacking and the story is fairly simple. However, I felt that the acting was quite good and the dramatic elements of the plot came through nicely. In an era of special effects in the place of content, this was a refreshing change of pace. There were a lot of things that could have been added that would have made this a much better film but overall I came away with a positive feeling. Giving the characters more depth and more motivation would have been helpful as well as showing us a few more aspects of their lives and what compelled them to come up with their plan. Also, a few of the actors were too young for their roles (they were supposed to be friends with the leads father but were actually his age.) Still, this was a lot better than some of the other drivel that passes for "action/thriller" movies these days.
AD
