DVD Review: Steal

By Patrick Luce Apr 7, 2005, 12:28 GMT

'Steal' was released April 5 in the US

The movie’s basic plot is a group of friends who rob banks and armored cars then make their getaway through some form of “extreme” sports. For instance, the movie opens with the group robbing a bank and then making their getaway on roller blades.

The movie then turns more deadly as the group’s crime spree increases in danger and risk. Other extreme getaways include parachuting off a 1,000 high bridge, underwater escapes, and rolling a pair of 18-wheeler trucks.

Slim (Dorff), the leader and planner of the gang, adds more danger to the group when he begins dating Karen (Henstridge) - who just happens to be an undercover cop. The group also find themselves having to pull jobs for a mysterious boss who threatens to have them arrested if they don’t do as he says. The boss is kind of like a poor man’s Keyser Soze (Usual Suspects in case you don’t know).

Another plot turn happens when the gang accidentally steals some bonds that belong to the mob. Naturally, the mob sends a hit man to collect the bonds and kill the gang. This is an overdone plot and wasn’t really needed to add to the already bungled storyline. If anything, it just adds to the film’s problems thanks in part to the extreme overacting of Steven Berkoff.

Berkoff’s performance spins the movie from a halfway good crime thriller to an almost comical late night cable movie. He really ruins any chance this movie had of being good or being taken serious.

Dorff is good in the film, but provides his normal tough guy routine that we have seen him do in every part he has taken from Deuces Wild to Cold Creek Manor.

Henstridge also falls into her normal role of sex-vamp who walks along flashing her legs and adding little in way of actual talent. She shines among the other cops in the film, such as Bruce Payne, thanks again to bad overacting.

The stunts are also impressive, but there are not enough of them in the movie to keep you interested or distracted from the horrible plot and low-grade acting.

The opening chase scene does a great job of getting you interested in the movie, even though it is followed up by bad acting, and the quick turn around for the next job keeps you wondering how they are going to escape next.

The problem is that no film is going to be good if you find yourself just waiting for the next big stunt. There has to be some acting or some kind of good plot to keep your interest.

By the end of the movie, you don’t really care if the gang makes it out of the situation they have been placed in and you pretty much know they will since it is following the same formula that every crime movie has followed since the first one was filmed.

The disc has a behind the scenes extra feature that shows how they made the movie, and if you enjoyed the extreme stunts then it might interest you. If you suffered through the whole movie, then you might not want to devote any more of your time to watching how they made this monstrosity.

The bottom line is that if you like movies about a group of young guys pulling off extreme robberies for no reason just go rent Point Break. If you like watching extreme stunts, watch XXX or any other clone that has come out in the past couple of years. This film just isn’t worth your time unless you enjoy the occasion movie that is so bad it is almost laughable.

Steal is out to own now in the US and available via Amazon. UK readers will have to wait until April 25 or pre-order via Amazon UK.

You can read more about the DVD in our database.