Freeman, Caine and Arkin Plan a Bank Robbery in Going in Style — and the Heist Never Quite Pays Off

Three senior citizens rob a bank. That is the pitch for Going in Style, and it should work. Zach Braff directs, Theodore Melfi and Edward Cannon wrote it, and Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin star as Joe, Willie and Albert, a trio of seniors who lose their pensions and decide to take the money back. The film premiered at the SVA Theatre on March 30, 2017, and hit US cinemas on April 7, 2017. It earned $85 million against a $25 million budget. It is also a remake of the 1979 film of the same name.

The three leads carry the film.

Freeman plays Willie, a man with nothing left to lose. Caine plays Joe, the planner, and Arkin plays Albert, the skeptic who comes around. The supporting cast is rounded out by Ann-Margret as Annie, John Ortiz as Jesús, Peter Serafinowicz as Peter Murphy, Matt Dillon as Special Agent Arlen Hamer and Christopher Lloyd as Milton Kupchak. The jokes land in patches, the chase sequences are fine, and the film never quite finds a rhythm that justifies its existence.

Trailer, via Warner Bros..

The Setup

The three friends start the film at a bank where Joe witnesses a robbery in progress. The leader of the thieves bears a Mongol warrior tattoo on his neck, which Joe later recognizes. That detail, and a chance encounter with Jesús, the Queens pet store owner who becomes their teacher, gives the film its spine. Joe, Willie and Albert plan to rob the bank after their pensions are canceled when their company is bought out. Joe’s daughter Rachel and granddaughter Brooklyn are at risk of homelessness. Willie is terminally ill from kidney failure. The stakes are real, and the film never quite commits to them.

The Heist

The plan involves disguising themselves as “The Rat Pack” and using guns with blanks. The film leans on its cast to sell the comedy. Arkin, Freeman and Caine all have real comic timing, and the scenes when they get dressed up and act like press-ready stars land better than almost anything else in the picture. The trouble is that the scheme is so simple that the film has no other way to handle it. The plot relies on the trio’s friendship and their desperation, and when the heist itself arrives, there is little surprise left.

The Supporting Cast

Matt Dillon is fine as the FBI agent chasing them. Christopher Lloyd is a delight as the senile lodge buddy who keeps getting in the way. Joey King plays Brooklyn, Joe’s granddaughter. The film keeps her mostly on the side, which is a missed opportunity. The supporting characters exist to help the plot along, not to be themselves. That is a structural problem, not a performance problem.

What Works

• The three leads’ chemistry is real, especially in the moments where they play it straight.
• The plan to dress as The Rat Pack gets a real run of comedy out of a simple idea.
• Christopher Lloyd’s scenes as Milton Kupchak are the film’s best stretches.

What Doesn’t

• The premise is thin. A bank robbery by seniors should be sharp and clever; this one is neither.
• The film keeps leaning on the same joke about the trio being old, without moving past it.
• The stakes are established early but barely acknowledged once the plan gets underway.

Score

Going in Style is a film that should work. It has three of the finest comic actors alive, a premise that could support a lean, funny, character-driven picture, and a budget that lets it move fast. Instead it plays it safe, with jokes that land in patches and a plot that never rises above its setup. The film’s tagline promises that you’re never too old to get even. It is true, but the film never quite shows you how.

The 2017 film’s failure is not about age or ambition. It is about execution. The jokes about the trio being old are fine as one-offs, but they become a habit by the back half. The heist itself is a letdown because the film has spent so long on the setup that there is little left to do with it. The result is a film that feels less like a crime comedy than a series of sketches surrounding a heist that never earns its place.

Key Numbers

• Directed by Zach Braff
• Written by Theodore Melfi and Edward Cannon
• Cast: Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Alan Arkin, Ann-Margret, John Ortiz, Peter Serafinowicz, Matt Dillon, Christopher Lloyd
• Budget: $25 million; gross: $85 million
• Trilogy: 2017 remake of 1979 film
• Runtime: 96 minutes

Going in Style is a film of missed opportunities. It has a great cast, a solid premise and a bank robbery that never quite pays off. The film is worth watching for the three leads alone, but it is not worth the cost of entry. It is a film that critics have largely written off, and that judgment holds. Score: 5 of 10.

Bank heist · Going in Style · Michael Caine · Morgan Freeman · Zach Braff