I suppose it was inevitable the infamous 2015 jewellery heist by a group of senior citizens would be made into a film. In fact, The Hatton Garden Job is the third film on this subject so far, with another three in development. With the fascinating characters and the twists and turns of the real story, before a screenwriter adds any of their own, it should be impossible to make a bad film about the robbery.
Despite some very sniffy reviews, this effort is far from that, but I can’t help feeling that a better telling of the story is yet to be made. Larry Lamb, Phil Daniels, Clive Russell, and David Calder play the pensioner thieves and they don’t need to break sweat in their parts. There is one villain who got away – his identity unknown – and he is played by Matthew Goode. Joely Richardson has a lot of fun, despite her wavering accent, as the Hungarian Mrs Big behind the scenes.
Director Ronnie Thompson largely sticks to the true story, and, although the fate of the protagonists is well known the theft sequence is quite gripping. The weaknesses lie in the screenplay. Some of the dialogue is a bit clunky and some of the more interesting aspects of the story are not examined. Such as what was in the box that Matthew Goode stole to order? The distribution and melting down of the gold bars is not shown at all.
Entertaining enough though, and a fair effort at recreating the events.
Rating: 6 out of 10