How to Rob a Bank (and 10 Tips to Actually Get Away with It)

Plot synopsis:
As he tries to access an ATM to retrieve his last twenty bucks, Jason “JINX” Taylor runs into a snag – the transaction fee will overdraw him, and he cannot get his money out of the bank. Jinx fumes about this and other hidden charges which complicate his life…as we realize that he is locked in a bank vault…with the beautiful but tied-up Jessica, her apparently a hostage. But, as Jinx rails against corporations and how they stack the deck, we realize that the situation is very different from what it appears: in fact, it is Jessica, not Jinx, who is robbing the bank. She is aligned with Simon, who leads an armed team inside the branch. However, Jinx’s entry into the scenario upsets the heist, leading him and Jessica to be inadvertently locked inside the vault. In addition, Jinx has called the cops, who, led by Officer De Gepse, have surrounded the bank. Jinx makes contact with Simon by cell phone, and the situation becomes clearer, as he realizes Jessica has access to a special inside-the-vault computer and its codes…she and only she can open the vault door. Simon becomes increasingly upset when he is unable to strong-talk Jinx into getting the vault open (so the robbers can clear out the safe deposit boxes). And De Gepse is equally frustrated by the standoff, particularly when it is Jinx, not he, who seems to gain control over the situation.
As things progress, Jinx realizes that he and Jessica actually think very much alike – they both feel used – and this new kinship leads them to plot an escape. A call comes in from Nick, the true mastermind of the robbery, and Jinx and Jessica realize that Nick needs them to issue a PIN for him to access funds which have been skimmed (from fees, of course) over the course of years. With Simon increasingly unstable, Jinx is able to manipulate both him and De Gepse while also making a deal with Nick to provide a PIN (controlled by Jinx and Jessica) to go with Nick’s account information. Jinx manages to talk both cops and robbers into letting Jessica and him out, as freed hostages, and in the ensuing chaos, they slip away, to meet Nick and escape with their cut of the cash…

Tags: comedy, flashback

Review:
The camera moves from the vault back through the bank, out a bullet hole, and ends with the cops.
The exchange that ends with "I have his number if you want it" cracked me up.The situations with cell phone use feel authentic in how they play out.
The characters' frustrations and lack of cleverness is a refreshing change from most films.
The cast are amazing, and the storyline is simply fantastically (is that even a word, I do not know, but I used it anyway, in lack of a better word) made.I wouldn't recommend this as a thriller, as I think this is more of a dark comedy, entwined with actions and clever conversations.This film, whilst not Oscar worthy, is good nonetheless.
Issues regarding bank security, of our dislikes of banks charging us for services they were supposed to give for free to the customers, is mentioned here.I like the way the story is told, and of the tips given.
"How to Rob a Bank" is a low-budget oddity in which a young private citizen (Nick Stahl) gets accidentally locked in a bank vault with a hot-and-sexy would-be robber (Erika Christensen).
The trick is it's hard to tell whose side young Jinx is really on - the bank robbers' who are holding the employees and customers hostage on the other side of the steel door, or the cops', led by Officer Degepse (Terry Crews of "Everybody Hates Chris"), who are stuck outside the bank trying to defuse the situation.
Jinx is a customer mightily ticked off at how banks literally nickel-and-dime their depositors at every opportunity - and it is anger at this outrage that may inspire him to shift his loyalties to the malefactors in the final stretch.Written and directed by Andrews Jenkins, the movie earns more points for creativity than it does for execution.
The story is often needlessly gimmicky and confusing, the direction unpolished and lacking in finesse, and the performances low on subtlety and shading (though Stahl is very good).
Plus, what with its made-on-the-cheap appearance, collection of pseudo-profundities and single-set mise-en-scene, "How to Rob a Bank" definitely has a film-school-project feel to it.Still, it's kind of fun watching the movie turn the bank-robbery formula on its head, particularly in its blurring of the lines between the hostages and the hostage-takers, the law-breakers and the law-enforcers.
I've read some of the other reviews and I honestly believe that this film is worth far more than they're giving.
It's lighthearted nature, range of believable and identifiable characters as well as the sheer brilliance of its time and pacing has made this one of my favorite films of all time..
Nick Stahl, Erika Christensen, Gavin Rossdale, & Terry Crews are all quite talented, too bad they have nothing good for them to do.
Please don't bother wasting your time or your money with this very good looking (the cinematography is looks great) yet utterly pointless & extremely boring film..
How to Make a Bad Movie.
I saw that this was an independent movie with a first time director released by IFC and it looked like it might be a cool little flick.
This thing is one of the worst films I have ever seen.
Witness the exchange between the COP on the street and the angry young man trapped in the bank.
One minute the man trapped in the bank vault, with the horribly cheese ball sexy receptionist, is freaking out in a panic and the next he is chill and calm and delivering smooth cool lines to the femme fatal.
The clumsy attempt to message this plot out with a angry protest cry at banks for charging $ 1.50 ATM fees is laughable - but not funny.The direction and production blatantly audition for an ultra mainstream Hollywood production in attempts to look slick and keep the camera fluid but just call attention to itself in it's half baked passionless, committee driven excuse for a movie.
I was reading one reviewer who was whining about the screens on the computers in the movie that were on for probably a whole 30 seconds...huh?
People take things way to seriously.
As stated the movie itself isn't the best and the ending is kind of rushed, but it has some great actors(including the late David Carradine) and its a fun flick.
This movie is simply beautiful and surely this is not what you are expecting after hearing the title.Though nothing remarkable happens, but it will definitely keep you in track as sufficient suspense is presented there.
It reminds me of "The Blair Witch Project (1999)" where the mental pressure of fear, mystery and suspense was more intense than those were graphically presented.Erika Christensen (Jessica) and Nick Stahl (Jinx) looks perfect in it.
The unspoken chemistry between them was pleasurable.Debutant Andrews Jenkins was creative both in writing the script and directing the movie.
My summary basically points out the only reason this movie may be worth the watch.
Erika Christensen is extremely hot and she gets an enormous amount of screen time.
If that's enough for you to watch a movie go for it.
Else - pass on the experience.Jinx (Nick Stahl) is having a bad day.
Panicking he locks himself in the bank vault with bank robber Jessica (Erika Christensen), whom he quickly ties up.
and his 20 bucks.The plot actually sounds promising and given a proper director with some feel for building the suspense it might actually work.
This director however went for Fight Club type editing and a script trying so hard to be intelligent, that it fails to notice how stupid it is.
One of the worse bank robbery movies in living memory..
a "dark" comedy with some weired moments,very "new age" production style; hot babe (by universal terms at least).i did not find it "bad" at all; i have seen better from this genre, yet there is a certain "sweetness" that will likely keep you watch on, without feeling "bored" generally(the first 5-10 minutes i found them as irrelevant), even if the whole action happens in and in-between the "valut"(Nick Stahl and Erika Christensen), bank's main floor (with the bad guys+ hostage), and the front street with Terry Crews (as the negotiator).i say "new age" dark comedy because there are many scenes that technically suppose to be funny but they are not; such as letting you think" along the line "ok...and...?".
basically if you like British humor( even if it is a Hollywood production) and looking for pure entertainment values, this might be for you.
and especially if you are part of the young generation and/or withing the start of the middle age one.i found the end to be disappointing in traditional sense and there also some references to internet use that play out right from the "regulaters" political agenda!
there are way too many phones and calls involved yet i THINK i can see the sarcasm in itself (if this was intended to be commercial it definitely fails flat and the investors should demand their money back).actually the plot in itself falls flat as well, since the "surcharge" theme has been played out many times before and much better.
the thing that holds quiet well the movie together are the wacky dialogs(or most of them) and the camera work.
David Carradine is a nice touch even if only actually see him once(i recognized his voice from a mile away without looking into credits first).all in all is a good "progressive" time waster.
While the title of this movie is "How to Rob a Bank", it had only scenic reference to bank robbing.
This movie really is an allegory about social dynamics; how to be a master of your own destiny (rob a bank) instead of being moderated into a meaningless controlled life by society (pretty much having very little money after paying for charges, etc...).
"How to Rob a Bank" is a good movie that can be easily misunderstood if taken as either an action movie, a thriller or a straight on comedy.
The acting is the strongest aspect of the movie and rightly so, in order to deliver that message.
If you do watch that movie, pay attention to social dynamics instead of technical bank robbing details..
It might only tell you that I disliked the movie or maybe even didn't understand the plot when I state now that I am convinced that the screenplay writer must be a longtime cocaine addict.
You might think that I am bad with people when I say that the persons in this movie must be from a different planet, that what they uttered clearly did not come from motivation but from awfully bad writing that was supposed to come over as cool.At some point, the movie just starts to hurt the consciousness.
If it doesn't hurt yours, then you either didn't see it or that you don't have consciousness.I think I am caught in a hellish reality tunnel with a pretentious movie and people who think that the movie's displayed wannabe-coolness is to be studied and imitated in real life because it makes you feel "good" about yourself.
It describes the opposite of what I think about this movie.
It is unbelievable how people can not see that this movie is a load of mind vomit..
Jinx (Nick Stahl) is locked in the bank vault with sarcastic Jessica (Erika Christensen) tied up.
He's ranting about bank service charges but he only wants his $20.
He's the bank robber and he wants his cohort Jessica to open the vault.
Police officer DeGepse (Terry Crews) is outside wondering what's going on.Stahl and Christensen tries a bit of quirky rom-com but that mostly fails.
It seems more reasonable for Jinx to hold up in the vault which leads to the big problem with the ending.
I like the two leads and they keep this movie from completely crashing..
I literally just made a IMDb account to rate this movie.
Tbh I think I could have made it better myself at university on my BA film and television course.
The comedy in the film is shocking the acting isn't very good (better than mine) but pretty poor and another annoying thing I found is that there are numerous continuity errors.
Some of the errors that I spotted were that the phone was in the right hand at one point then the left at another and the bank in one scene is shown to be under the bank robbers and not adjacent which it is perceived in other scenes.People may enjoy it but in my case I just found it very irritating to watch and ended up writing this review half way through the film..
I rated this movie a ten not because of the brilliant actors' play the magnificent director work or the incredible make-up, I rated this movie a 10 because the screenplay is amazing.
Revealing things hiding in plain sight like the surcharges in the bank and the way small decisions can realizations can make your life different.
I hope you appreciate the brilliant screenplay and the subtle messages that it tries to send through the whole situation that the movie is set in.
You won't enjoy the movie if you don't want to think at all or you are too proud to recognize your blind spots....
One of the worst films I have ever watched.This film gets steadily worse all the way to the worst ending ever.
I think the ending was trying to be deep and meaningful but actually just made no sense, even after rewinding and watching the last scene again.The film also randomly cuts back to the title sequence for no reasons what so ever and keeps repeating the same dialogue about paying the ATM to get money out over and over and over again.In general the story feels very dragged out, the whole thing could be covered in about 5 minuets.
The characters make little sense and the camera darting around near the end for 15 minutes is just ridiculous.
I really liked this movie because our main character, he has some issues like me with banks and what they charge us,, they nickel and dime us for every little thing,, but besides that.
I thought that this movie was very funny,, an average guy goes into a bank and somehow ends up getting locked in the vault with one of the robbers,, but she is very sexy.
so not to bad for me,, the robbers on the other side of the vault however are very inept.
our main character has to figure out right and wrong,, and if he wants to help the cops or help the sexy young bank robber girl.
I thought this movie was hilarious, definitely thrilling, and just the whole premise of getting locked in the vault,, not a bad little gem,, not gonna win an Oscar but way above average..
Like getting little moments stolen from you until you have nothing left..
Sure this MAY contain spoilers, but the thing that will be more spoiled is your time by watching it.
This is a teenage bank robbery / hostage flick.That would explain why people talk like teenagers, and that the cop in charge acts like a teenager, instead of like all of other hostage negotiators you may have seen in all of those "R" rated bank hostage movies.
("R" for "realistic") The biggest problem was that it was trying SO HARD to be funny, or witty, or whatever, and it was just STUPID.Quick question for those who've seen the film.
I believe they DO, but you wouldn't know it if you saw this movie.
I just remember one ringing RIGHT AWAY with the cop in charge calling in like the first 3 minutes of just about every other bank hostage flick I've ever seen.
I also remember the cop-in-charge REALLY knowing what he's doing, too, you know, like he's taken a class or something.The thing that I find a real shame about this is that, technically, it was well made - all the pieces where there.
The DIALOG was a BIG problem, along with the lack of believable characters, and editing that was too smart for itself by way of "lock, stock and two smoking barrels" whose self-conscience style has infected cinema with its small-screen editing and overlays.
There's one good thing about this film, however, Erika Christensen is HOT, and seriously, if it weren't for her, I would have stopped this within the first half hour..
This movie is okay for a rainy day.
"Plot" About a man named Jason Taylor who was going into a bank to use the ATM to get money for food.
As he learns the bank is being robbed and somehow manages to get locked in the vault with the robbers on the outside.
Basically a cry of surplus charges and taking from the little guy.Dialog is pretty cheesy at best...If you're bored and there is nothing better..
What is the world coming to when Canadian cable is involved a competent film like Passchendaele, and Hollywood gives us How To Rob a Bank?
It's a new dawn.The entire film seems to be about how two cute new adults can sound really really cool when they deal with all the incredibly stupid people around them.
Stupid people like cops, bankers, criminal masterminds, and so on.
I think the inevitable porn version of this film is actually going to have a better plot with better acting.The story is based on the entire idea that a criminal mastermind couldn't hack a simple 4-digit PIN.
If you are capable of hacking the system to divert service fees to another account, you can crack or reprogram a PIN.By the way, how are they going to withdraw those funds?
This might have made some sense at the time of Superman III, but that time has long since passed.Bad script, bad acting, REALLY bad computer screen with nothing on it.Really, to justify all the nonsense in this film, it really cries out for John McClane to come in and sort things out about half an hour in.
That would be a great short film.I gave it a 5 solely because the two leads aren't bad to look at..
all the negative reviews had me worrying I was in for a dog but this was a surprisingly enjoyable romp with some good ideas, snazzy camera work and editing (almost too snazzy) and a clever way of telling the story.
The movie starts part way through the story and then fills in the details as and when you need to know them.
you do have to pay close attention to figure out what's going on, and why, and on some details you're left wondering, which is the one flaw in an otherwise good movie.
She has an excellent screen presence as a particularly hot bank robber tech expert and has a playful and believable interaction with Nick Stahl - good chemistry and a pleasure to watch.
Some good lines and a nice bitch about bank charges etc.
There are far worse movies out there and much worse ways to spend 90 mins..
It seems that IMDb only posts the reviews from "plants" from the people who somehow made filmed this mess.
There is nothing redeemable about this tired heist premise, nothing new is brought to the table, with cliché after cliché, this movie never fails to deliver.
The actors, Stahl, Christensen, Rossdale, etc seemed to have been blackmailed (or held at gun point) to star in this film and it shows since their performances are their worst, no thanks to the "wacky" tired and just bad dialog...
so bad you can almost see that the actors are saying their lines as if read directly from the script...
Of course some of you may think this is so bad it's good...
but it's hardly as it's painful to watch how terrible the performances are as well as the story and the way the "cops" act...