The Code

What a big letdown. First off, I wasn't really expecting much out of this, the trailer wasn't really something but it has Freeman and Banderas in it, both I am a big fan of. As it turned out, it was all a big, fat failure of a heist movie. I always welcome recycled plot lines just as long as the execution brings something new to the table but in Thick as Thieves, there wasn't. We've all seen it before and the twist at the end, although you never see it coming within the movie, the shock factor was poorly executed.

I love all of Freeman's works but this one is at the end of the line. The chemistry between Banderas and Mitchell was off, there was no spark none whatsoever. Skip it, rent it but don't buy it. It's a waste of money.

Oh Dear, in deed. What could have been one of the best heist movies in recent history turned out to be (in my humble opinion) a serious let down.

Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas, a potential chemistry that on paper seemed a sure fire hit, but and there's always a but. It just didn't materialize, whether it was the short-comings of the dialog or the direction I can't say; but it just didn't sizzle.

When you think of heist movie partnerships then you have to be very special to match up against De Niro and Norton has seen in 'The Score'.

Freeman and Banderas - don't....sorry. For me this was the most overwhelming shortfall of the film, the two main protagonists just don't bounce off each other and has a consequence the characters fail to draw you in.

As for the plot, Freeman - going for the last big score before retirement, Banderas - hoping to improve his standing in the criminal fraternity whilst making a lot of money in the process.

Formulaic with a twist-at-the-end that was disappointingly obvious because the writers thought it had to have a twist-at-the-end. When will they ever learn that you can tell a story without having the ubiquitous twist - the bigger surprise would have been - oh wait for it - no surprise.

Unfortunately, this movie will go down has another example of Hollywood doing what Hollywood does, very little thought and effort put into an idea that could have been so much greater than the sum of its parts.

I gave this movie a 5 for the attempt of entertaining us, it should be a lot higher if only it had lived up to it's potential.

To be honest I expected a lot more from this film, with Morgan Freeman, a veteran movie maker. However I was a little shocked at the lack of action in this movie.

Yes it was full of faces you may recognise from other movies but to be honest that's about where it leaves you. There were no amazing car chases, not enough action etc.

About the only half decent thing in this movie was the seriously slow unwinding plot twist.

Not a great movie overall, not one I would consider watching again. I guess Morgan is getting on a bit, maybe that attributed to the lack of "things"?

Thick as Thieves is pretty much as lousy as heist films get. It's lazy, derivative, and really quite offensive in the way it leans back in your favourite chair, flicks cigarette ash on your carpet while smirking at you and telling you there's nothing you can do to stop it as you've already paid your money.

The twists are both of everyone's least-favourite flavour: one you can spot a mile off and the other one - while unexpected - you won't give a hoot about. The heist too is lazy, but by that point you won't be surprised even if you can remember all the talk of it being an impossible job. Your expectations will be so low you'll tell yourself it's par for the course. Both Morgan Freeman (usually reliable) and Antonio Banderas (usually intolerable) coast by with just the pilot light on, totally lacking chemistry, and only Radha Mitchell comes away with any kind of credibility, doing decent work and putting in far more effort than her underwritten character deserves.

What no comments, no rating, no release date?!! This is what I first thought when looking at the IMDb page for this movie, "how can it be possible, a movie released here in Taiwan but not in America?!"

First off I had trouble finding this movie on IMDb since the English title given in Taiwan is The Code", where as according to IMDb its "Thick as Thieves"

I didn't know what to expect when entering this movie as I hadn't read a million posts on IMDb saying how its amazing and the others saying it should be the 2nd thing on your list to do after suicide.

It's pretty much your average bank heist movie, the story is based around a job which is utterly impossible unless you have amazing tools and gadgets which probably take longer to create than the whole security system of the bank they're planning to hit. The story moves along nicely, it has a few short moments where it seems to drift away from the main plot but it doesn't distract you from the main track. The acting by Freeman is his usual really, the more experienced and wiser man who once again does a decent job. The young rookie crook role goes to Banderas who generally does a good job but in the early stages of the movie just doesn't look right. The young rookie is the same as most the young cocky rookie's you see in most movies, unfortunately a middle aged man making wise cracks just doesn't look right on screen.

Like you'd expect there's a surprise ending which isn't so easy to figure out, or when you think you've figured it out you still end up being wrong. It's what you'd expect from a heist movie and it certainly doesn't disappoint. The directing is nothing special, it just seems like standard Hollywood movie making with nothing really standing out as being special. The dialogue is nothing flash, its normal dialogue with very little standout lines. The performances are once again nothing stand out, all the actors do a decent job in this movie but nothing worthy of an Oscar.

Overall this isn't a super awesome big time blockbuster, its an OK piece of cinema which is sure to entertain you but its not going to have you shouting from the roof tops