Armored 2009

     War veteran Ty Hackett is hired to work as security guard by Eagle Shield Security where his old friend Mike Cochroone works.  Ty is having financial difficulties after the death of his father and he is raising his brother Jimmy alone.  He teams up with Mike's brother-in-law, Baines and their coworkers Quinn, Palmer and Dobbs.  One night Mike invites Ty to join in the robbery of two armored trucks transporting forty-two million dollars.  The reluctant Ty accepts after Mike promises that  no one would get hurt in the heist.  

     This movie is actually a B-grade movie but it has all the basic needs of an average thriller.  There is the predictable setup and it relies on the bare essentials.  The movie goes everywhere it’s expected to with twists and turns in ways you see coming and it resolves its conflict tied with a big red bow!!  It still manages some genuinely gripping moments largely because the characters are very well developed.  Despite having a spot in the sphere of standard heist-gone-wrong movie, it’s entertaining because of the familiar faces of the cast and the direction from Nimród Antal.  He is also the director of the movie Vacancy 2007.  3* (This movie is OK)   

88 min, Action directed by Nimrod Antal and written by James V. Simpson with Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburne, Amaury Nolascdo, Fred Ward, Milo Ventimiglia, Skeet Ulrich, Columbus Short, Andre Jamal Kinney, Andrew Fiscella, Nick Jameson, Glenn Taranto, Lorna Raver, Garry Guerrier, Robert Harvey.

Note:  Imdb 5.7* out of 10* with 29,803 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes, 40% with 555 critic reviews 31* with 100,000+ audience scores, Deep Focus 2 1/2* out of 4* Brian Eggert,

Special Note:  This film was accidentally released by Sony on the PlayStation Network without a fee while it was still playing in theaters?  Although the mistake was quickly spotted and the film pulled from PlayStation, it was downloaded thousands of times.  Ty Hackett acted by Columbus Short refers to Duncan Ashcroft acted by Fred Ward as “top.”  This is a term often used by the United States Army to describe First Sergeants due to their high rank.  There was initially a subplot/ backstory for Matt Dillon’s character with his wife dying and this was his reason for needing more money.  This plot was ultimately dropped to create a leaner running time.  There is only one woman who has a speaking role in this movie.  The child protection agent is played by Lorna Raver.  Her role is shorter than 4 minutes.  Elizabeth Rivera also has a non-speaking role.

Mistakes:  In the beginning of the movie, after they pick up the money from the bank you see the traffic light is red to the right side of the screen?  They continue to drive through the streets without stopping?  When Hackett enters the dressing room on the morning of the heist Baines' locker is closed and then open and then closed again.  When Mike confronts Officer Eckehart acted by Milo Ventimigila, Mike's uniform shirt is not tucked in on the right side in one shot, it is fully tucked in during another shot and then slightly not tucked in on the left side in another shot?