The Old Man & the Gun

A well-made, old-fashioned yarn, but the laid-back ballad-like tone will be too insubstantial for some

In the old days, the stickup men were like cowboys. They would just go in shooting, yelling for everyone to lie down. But to me violence is the first sign of an amateur. There is an art to robbing a bank if you do it right.

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_Once you've got your cool car parked nearby, you've got your radio, your hands are covered with gloves or superglue, you walk in. Go right up to the manager. Say, "Sit down." Never pull the gun - just flash it. Tell him calmly you're here to r__ob the bank and it better go off without a hitch. Don't run from the bank unless you're being shot at, 'cause it only shows something is going on. J...

Wow, the bottom of the barrel for this film is Casey Affleck and Tom Waits, that's the cinematic equivalent of Washington's cabinet where the weakest among them was John Jay. And even here, Casey probably (while playing himself) played the absolute best depiction of himself that he's ever done. He pulls off the burned out, fed up, hates his job detective i a way that is both totally entertaining and totally believable.

Danny Glover is the only down side and, honestly it's not because he didn't do a good job, he was lovable, believable, realistic, and maddeningly under-utilized. He leaves you wanting to see more, and unfortunately you never get it.

But, of course, the best of the best are Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek who manage to t...