Armored is a 2009 American crime thriller film directed by Nimród Antal, written by first-time screenwriter James V. Simpson, and starring Matt Dillon, Jean Reno and Laurence Fishburne. It was released on December 4, 2009.[1]
Plot
Ty Hackett (Columbus Short) is an employee at the Eagle Shield armored car company who is attempting shake off a less than outstanding past which includes a criminal record and service in the Iraq War. After the bank threatens to foreclose on his house Hackett finds himself in need of additional money to help make ends meet. While attempting to come up with a way to make more money Hackett is approached by one of the men who he works with at the armored car company, who has devised a plan to steal money being transferred from the Federal Reserve to the local banks in advance of a bank inspection. Upset at the prospect, Hackett turns down the offer and leaves for his home. Upon arriving, he finds a welfare worker who reveals that Hackett's brother has missed most of the school year, and that the absences have prompted the state to consider placing Hackett's brother in foster home.
The following morning Hackett arrives for work, and after receiving assurances that the plan will not leave blood on his hands reluctantly agrees to go along with the heist. Hackett and the other thieves are dispatched in two trucks to collect 42 million from the federal reserve, but after a radio check with their superiors the thieves set their plan into motion by driving to an abandoned steel mill located in a radio dead-zone. Here the team begins to unload the money for storage, intending to collect the cash after the heat from the heist dies down. The group offloads half of the 42 million from the first truck, but their plan takes an unexpected turn when a homeless man living in the mill observes the offloading process. A chase ensues, which results in the thieves catching the man, but when he attempt to flee again Baines (Laurence Fishburne ), a guard armed with a shotgun, shoots him. This causes Hackett to have a change of heart, but as he attempts to get the homeless man into one of the armored cars the ringleader, Mike (Matt Dillon), kills the man. Upset over this, Hackett barricades himself inside the truck with the remaining 21 million. After an attempt to flee in the truck fails, Hackett sets off the truck's alarm, which catches the attention of a local sheriff's deputy.
As the thieves attempt to break into the truck the deputy arrives on the scene, and finding nothing of interest prepares to leave, when Hackett successfully restores power to the truck's alarm. In a panic, Baines fires his weapon again, incapacitating the officer. When the thieves get into an argument over what do about this latest setback, Hackett takes the opportunity to debark from his disabled truck. He retrieves the officer and sets fire to the stored money before returning to his truck. Once the truck is secured, Hackett dresses the deputy's wounds as best he can. The remaining thieves devise a plan to break into the truck by knocking off the hinges, which will allow them to remove the doors.
While the men attempt to remove the hinges from the door Hackett discovers that the floor in the back of his truck has a panel that can be removed. After covering the windows of the truck, Hackett successfully removes the panel, and taking the officer's radio, carefully works his way to the roof to see if he can get a message out. His attempt succeeds, but before the deputies arrive the thieves produce Hackett's brother and demand he debark from the truck. Hackett complies, and two of the remaining three thieves head for the money; however Hackett has rigged the money case with booby trap, which detonates upon opening. The explosion destroys the money and kills the two men, leaving only Mike.
Enraged at the loss of all of the money, Mike chases after Hackett, who attempts to flee the scene in the deputy's car. After the car becomes disabled, Hackett flees on foot with the surviving truck in pursuit. Before Mike can catch Hackett his truck falls through a hole in the plant, which results in the death of Mike. In the final scene, the deputy is debriefed at the hospital. As the officers leave the room Hackett stands, expecting to be taken in; however the men walk past him. His boss then approaches and congratulates him, and hints at a reward for a job well done. Then Ty and his brother go home.
Cast
Production
Filming took place in Los Angeles.[2]
Reception
The film was not screened in advance to critics.[3] The film received mixed reviews, getting a 47% (fresh) rating on Rotten Tomatoes[when?].
A.O. Scott, in a The New York Times review, wrote that the Hungarian director, Nimród Antal, "has an old-fashioned, functional style. [...] He has made an unabashed B movie: basic, brutal and sometimes clumsy, but far from dumb, and not bad at all."[3] The film doesn't minimize the seriousness of killing and conveys a bleak outlook on economic blight "with quiet passion and conviction", Scott wrote. The cinematography of Andrzej Sekula (whose work also appears in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction) helps capture that mood, according to Scott.[3]
References
- ^ www.armoredmovie.com
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Siegel, Tatiana (January 24, 2008). "Fishburne, Reno get 'Armored'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 28, 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5lcF2ay6x. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
- ^ a b c Scott, A. O., "Truck Heist Hits a Skid In a B Movie With a Soul", review, The New York Times, p C9, December 5, 2009, retrieved same day
External links
