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Director Barry Levinson, the toast of Baltimore, Maryland, is one of the cinematographers whose body of work ranges from simply awful (scope) to the extremely attractive (The Natural). Indeed, Levinson is inconsistent with the fact that you never know whether his next film will be Jimmy Hollywood or Wag with Dog. If Bandits, a big budget Hollywood production Starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett, Levinson was able to avoid some of the errors that marred his worst outings, but it also avoided the qualities needed in the safe of the film in the top echelon of his body work. The result is a poorly targeted, twisting motion picture that occasionally opens moments pleasant banter and mildly amusing comedy.

The film could not decide what it wants to be, so it gives us a number of common elements movie staples: a romantic triangle, the buddy movie, and caper film. When Bandits concentrates on character interaction, in general, with solid (if unspectacular) of land, but when he tries to move the plot forward in the smart and unexpected way, it falls on its face. In prosaic “twist” is a particularly painful because it is transparent to anyone who was paying attention to moderate. Unfortunately, Levinson still awaits us will be surprised (it is clear from how the final scenes were shooting), which creates the impression that the filmmakers are insulting our intelligence. Bandits have pleasant affected, mainly in the scenes between Thornton and Blanchett, and there are a few funny moments, but those can not save the movie, though they do protracted 124 - minute length works more acceptable.

Bandits tells the story of the “Sleepover Bandits,” the most successful bank robbers in the history of the United States. As a voiceover tells us, they are part of Bonnie and Clyde, as part of Barnum and Bailey, and Levinson so that everyone in the audience thinks Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at least three times. Joe (Willis) and Terry (Thornton) became friends in prison, and then, after the release from prison, join forces to go to a crime spree, with the ultimate goal in the south of the border and the opening of the resort. Rather than go to the banks and to hold them in the usual manner, they decide to kidnap the bank manager the day before the robbery, spend the night at his home and then accompany him to work the next morning. All happening so for the two until Terry is struck by the car is determined Kate (Cate Blanchett), a bored housewife who believes that the idea is a hostage to the Sleepover Bandits be fine diversion from the humdrum of its existence. I not only became an informal partner in crime, but it starts with the first case, Joe, and then Terry.

Ultimately, the Bandits, not because Levison does not care enough about the film caper aspects that make them work. They seem to be thrown in as an afterthought, rather than as an integral part of the story. Character development is also uncertain. We are developing some sympathy for the sad-sack Terry, but neither Joe nor Kate grows to avoid their roots stereotype. Thrown in the mix is a real crime TV show called “The criminals masses,” which follows the merits in Sleepover Bandits. In addition to providing unnecessary exposure, these layers provide a sense of flow and damage to the film to extend its current length. If they are for the satirical (which seems to be the point), they miss the mark.

For all of its problems, there are some things about rewarding Bandits - in cinematography (by veteran Dante Spinotti) consistently good acting (in Willis, Thornton and Blanchett) is a solid, and there are several lines of dialogue that sparkle (for example, when Kate called as “iceberg waiting for” Titanic “). Scenes that work is done as well (as when Joe and Terry awkward spend the evening eating dinner with their abducted victims), but too many forgettable. Bandits may be somewhat offbeat, but it is unlikely to make it useful.

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