Mogly Mtshali

The script was poorly written. The dialogue felt rehearsed and unnatural especially when vernac was used. The only natural dialogue seemed to come from the Afrikaans speakers. The performance by the leads was also below average as most times it was over acting. You don't need to deliver lines out of breath or from the top of your lungs to increase tension and intensity. Technically it was sound, with a few budget cut decisions made when it game to the stab wounds and head shot but nothing noticeable to the uninitiated eye. Now had this film been a film about a heist gone wrong or the same story but not pandering to the event it was inspired by than it would've been more enjoyable. However specifically because it was marketed as the story of the silverton siege and even released on freedom and than the film itself is actually a white washed watered down version of the truth. Its a movie taking place in 1980s South Africa, a time of great violence and racial tension. And in this film I didn't even feel any racism. The cops are so friendly, and you don't feel any hate or urgency from them to enter the bank. We are to believe that 3 MK trained operatives would be against violence, and still be able to control 25 mostly white hostages without harming anyone while keeping an afrikaaner police force outside. Impossible. Had the movie been made darker and grittier with a more realistic potrayal of the mood at the time than it would have been a great watch. All in all its a fail in my book. This had all the ingredients to be a very intense thriller, instead if you know the truth of the silverton siege you know this movie is rather timid.