Thomas Slattery

This a good movie that would have been great if it was an hour shorter. Like one of its oft appearing spice mining machines, it lumbers noisily and laboriously along but never gets anywhere . It gets the job done with only just enough exciting moments to ward off boredom, but with a duration that makes true enjoyment elusive. Panoramic shots of desert landscape abound. One dimensional characters are as common as the grains of sand they walk upon. Battles aplenty. Romance derailed by the necessities of politics. It has everything it needs to be a great movie - but they pile on so much of it that it loses its lustre and ultimately is kind of a drag. I would suggest that if you go see it, bring a picnic you can step outside to enjoy after the first hour, spend 45 minutes enjoying your food, and then go back in for the last hour after you finish eating. You won’t miss anything important, and you can stretch your legs. Mine were numb by the time it finally ended. Although it didn’t reach any satisfactory conclusion.

Totally underrated. Acting is decent. Cinematrography is fine. Script acceptable It’s not a brilliant movie, but it’s as good as any other robbery romp I’ve seen in recent years - actually a lot better than many. If you’re looking for something in the vein of “Bronenosets Potyemkin” it’s the wrong movie. (Then again, if you were you looking for that you wouldn’t be here!) But if a rip-roaring-good-old-violence-is-as-American-as-cherry-pie film is what you’re after, it’s pretty satisfying!