How to Rob a Bank Review: A Fun Amazon Anti-Capitalist Heist Film
· BCPosted in: Amazon MGM Studios, Kaitlyn Booth, Movies, Review | Tagged: David Leitch, nicholas hoult
How to Rob a Bank Review: A Fun Amazon Anti-Capitalist Heist Film
How to Rob a Bank is a pretty good time at the movies, but it isn't anything special, and, considering the subject matter, it'll likely have a hard time making any money at the box office.
Published Sat, 14 Nov 2026 16:46:10 -0600
by Kaitlyn Booth
|
Comments
Article Summary
- How to Rob a Bank review: David Leitch delivers a stylish, entertaining heist movie with a pointed anti-capitalist core.
- How to Rob a Bank leans hard into its themes of predatory lending and wealth inequality, even when the message turns muddled.
- The action stays grounded with strong car chases and a satisfying third act, even if the FBI storyline feels less compelling.
- How to Rob a Bank works best as an ensemble piece and may struggle at the box office after its move from September to November.
How to Rob A Bank has a ton of style and enough substance to make for a fun time at the movies, even if the message feels a bit muddled in the end.
Director: David Leitch
Summary: A crew of social media-savvy bank robbers broadcasts their daring heists, unaware that their growing viral fame has put them in the crosshairs of a veteran FBI agent and a brilliant software engineer.
Amazon MGM Studios greenlighting a major motion picture about fighting back against capitalism and the way the banks screw everyone out of their money is one of those moments where the world and the movie we're watching don't add up. There is no escaping capitalism; you are always running in the rat race, and the only people who could ever possibly get out are the ones at the top of companies like Amazon. The rest of us are left walking out of a movie about distributing wealth to the less fortunate and predatory lending. How to Rob a Bank is one of those concepts that feels like it should be pulled off by an indie director with a skeleton crew who are holding things together with duct tape, a single shoelace, and sheer bloodyminded bravado; not one of the biggest companies in the entire world.
Does that make the movie on screen disingenuous? Maybe a little, but that was always unavoidable; Amazon MGM Studios somehow feels like a worse fit than NEON or even Focus Features would be in picking up this concept. Director David Leitch has a lot of style and spectacle in his movies to the point that it can sometimes feel like that's the only thing there. This time, How to Rob a Bank does have a point to make, and they are making it with all the subtlety of a 2×4 to the face. In the age of social media and the literacy crisis, if someone was going to attempt something like this, they would have to beat people over the head with the point because that's how things are these days.
In terms of action, How to Rob a Bank doesn't hide the fact that all the people involved are fairly normal, and that is kind of the point. So most of the action scenes involve cars and some very basic shootouts. The car chases are well done, and the movie pops off most when the third act rolls around and the "grand finale" the crew has been building up to reveals itself. However, much like other films with plots like this, we have the "foils" to our crew of antiheroes in the form of the FBI and the one off-the-books person they recruit, who doesn't at all seem like someone who should want to help the police, but does anyway.
Both of these people are also incredibly ordinary, and when they get involved in a car chase, it's in a car with wood paneling. The movie ultimately seems to wobble on how it feels about cops when it comes to what the robbers are trying to accomplish, admitting that they have points, but the most vulnerable are the ones who suffer the most under anarchy. Complex topics they are attempting to explore in an age when you can't be subtle are always a challenge.
When it comes to the cast, How to Rob a Bank is a true ensemble in every sense of the word. Everyone here is working at about the same level, which isn't a bad thing. The best true ensemble movies usually don't have one person who stands out from the rest, and that is what makes them work. The best use of Pete Davidson continues to be in ensemble movies, and that shouldn't be surprising for a man who got his start on Saturday Night Live. He might not have leading man energy, and hopefully studios realize he adds to ensembles but can't carry his own movies, not right now, and that's okay.
How to Rob a Bank is a pretty good time at the movies, but it also isn't anything special. Amazon MGM Studios moved the release date back from September to November back in July, and that was probably a mistake. Ironically, the movie about fighting back against capitalism, predatory lending, and wealthy distribution is probably going to have a hard time finding an audience and making any money at the box office. Most of us are (probably?) not robbing any banks anytime soon, so spending movie theater money to see the movie about income inequality right before the spending frenzy of the holiday season? The math isn't mathing.
How to Rob a Bank
Review by Kaitlyn Booth
6.5/10
How to Rob A Bank has a ton of style and enough substance that it's a fun time at the movies, even if the message feels a bit muddled in the end.
Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!