They simply seem like amusing/sad old men a lot of the time (which they must have seemed to the public reading the news back in 2015), and we have no context for who they are. Interestingly, the thieves’ backgrounds are not mentioned at all until near the end of the film, when they are discussed by police.
For those few minutes, the viewer can see what fearsome criminals they may have been in the past. But the art of acting only showed itself a couple of times most notably in one scene where Reader (the “gov’nor” at that stage) has a disagreement with Broadbent’s Terry Perkins and they need to be pulled apart by Winstone’s Danny Jones. I can’t deny they were – as I said – fabulous to watch. Caine’s Brian Reader, for example, is utterly bereft at the loss of his wife (Francesca Annis), and it comes across as natural that he would grasp at a new purpose when his daydream job suddenly seems possible. A few are a little two-dimensional, but in general, there is some real down-to-Earth humanity expressed, especially in the couple of characters we see the most of. The characters are written well, though which is clear even though the portrayal is so familiar. Sound actor, but – you know – not one of the names I went to see.) (Lest anyone thinks I’ve forgotten, there was a younger bloke involved too, played by Charlie Cox of Daredevil. Paul Whitehouse, for example, played his part almost exactly the same as the one he played in Ghost Stories. For the most part, though, the roles appeared to be undemanding: each of them played the same types of personalities we’ve seen them play before. In King of Thieves, they were all fabulous to watch, of course my favourite being Michael Gambon, who had a small role as the fence, Billy the Fish. Ray Winstone has played crooks of one sort or another over the years, though the others have a somewhat more civilised reputation. The name Michael Caine makes me remember “you were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!” after all: a heist is firmly in his acting CV.
Just as the elderly thieves had been experienced and successful crooks in their younger days, this cast goes back decades too. So we don’t go to watch King of Thieves for the story (well, the details of the heist are bound to be fun, surely?) but the remarkable cast. This is a famous story – at least here in the UK – not least because the thieves involved were nearly all in their sixties and seventies, making them seem even more audacious.
Most of it has never been recovered, though the key figures were arrested.
#King of thieves movie review plus#
The Hatton Garden safe deposit company vault was burgled over the course of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, with money valuing over £14 million, plus diamonds, gold and more stolen. King of Thieves is based on a true story – or rather, based on a magazine article which outlined the story – of a crime which took place in London just over three years ago. Unfortunately, King of Thieves does not come close to doing these fine actors justice. Michael Caine, Michael Gambon, Ray Winstone, Tom Courtenay, Jim Broadbent, Paul Whitehouse… It doesn’t matter what the film is about, if you buy a ticket featuring even three of those six names, you’ll expect it to be gripping fine drama at least, or possibly a damn riot.
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