Bandits is not your typical heist movie. It is not your typical love-triangle tale, nor is it the usual Bruce Willis fare. In fact, it’s worth seeing Bandits just so you can reach your own conclusion about which genre it fits into.
Willis and Billy Bob Thornton play escaped convicts who go on a nonviolent bank robbery spree in this unique genre-hybrid of a movie. The unlikely duo eludes the authorities and fascinates a nation with its unorthodox methods and pseudo-Robin Hood intentions. The pair steals from banks because bank money is government insured, and the government had unfairly taken money from the duo.
Their thieving technique involves going to the house of the bank manager, holding his or her family hostage for the night, and then taking them all to the bank in the morning, then helping themselves to the federally insured dollars.
Their goal is to raise enough money so that they can move south-of-the-border and buy a dreamy resort to live in forever.
All of this would be carried out to perfection except that a woman named Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett) comes into the picture, and the inevitable happens-both criminals fall in love with her. The film follows the three characters as they try to stay ahead of the law, backstab each other and get to paradise intact.
This movie is simply enjoyable to watch. Its ending is foreshadowed in the opening scenes by an “America’s Most Wanted” type of television show. The nation follows the “Sleepover Bandits,” as the duo-Joe and Terry-are called, from their first robbery to their last bloody shoot-out.
Thornton’s portrayal of Terry is wonderful. Terry is a hypochondriac and genius who has every detail of their crimes planned out. However, Terry is allergic to everything, has an irrational fear of antique furniture and thinks that he has brain cancer. This colorful character balances well with the Willis’ always-stoic Joe.
Blanchett is brilliant as Kate. She plays a woman with more issues than a daily newspaper, but is also very empathic and nurturing. Kate is running away from an unloving husband who would be more comfortable with a live-in maid than a wife. It becomes very obvious why Joe and Terry would fall for her, but she is not able to decide between the two.
Willis is, as always, the straight-faced tough guy. He and Thornton have great chemistry on screen together. You get the feeling during some scenes that he just wants to shoot something, but it’s a PG-13 flick. His gun is replaced by a magic marker, which he pretends is a weapon.
Bandits’ ending is a surprise, which flows with the film’s whole unconventional theme.
If you like a good story that is often predictable but never dull, and enjoy seeing a fresh take on at least four different genres, then Bandits is worth a shot. Grade: B+
