Two out of
Five stars
Running time:
92 mins
While nicely acted and never less than watchable, Daylight Robbery is ultimately disappointing thanks to unsympathetic characters, some dodgy direction and a stifling lack of tension.
What's it all about?
Written and directed by Paris Leonti, Daylight Robbery stars Geoff Bell as Alex, a criminal who masterminds a bank heist during the 2006 World Cup. Using an early flight check-in to Germany as their cover, a group of football fans (including Paul Nicholls, Vas Blackwood, Leo Gregory and Robert Boulter) pile into a van and promptly ram-raid a bank, blocking the exit and taking everyone inside hostage.
However, something goes wrong when one of the gang is badly injured and requires medical attention. With the police (led by a badly cast Shaun 'Barry from EastEnders' Williamson) laying siege to the bank and the clock ticking on their departure time, the gang have some difficult decisions to make.
The Good
Bell is excellent (eschewing his usual foul-mouthed thug routine for something a little more Zen) and there's strong support from Boulter as stoner crim Jay but none of the other actors are given much opportunity to develop their characters, which is a shame, as Blackwood, Gregory and Nicholls are all capable of more. Strangely, it's the minor roles that actually stand out, such as Lisa Shelley's hostage, Max Brown's doctor (who's forced to operate in his pants) and Shaun Parkes' have-a-go Yardie.
The Bad
Aside from the lazy characterisation, the film suffers badly from a lack of tension, especially considering that they supposedly have a plane to catch – no one even looks at their watch and the heist doesn't seem all that rushed. It's also poorly directed in places, with Leonti failing to inject the requisite emotional punch at the end.
However, the film's biggest problem is that we don't know enough about the characters to care whether they succeed or not. (Contrast this with The Bank Job, where you knew exactly what was at stake for all concerned.)
Worth seeing?
Daylight Robbery isn't exactly unwatchable, but it's nowhere near as good as it should have been.