The first half of the film grabs your interest with intrigue and slick production, but too many holes in the script later, loses you. It's a gorgeously shot caper film, but tries too hard to be cool, and someone should have spent more time plugging those story holes, as one's interest drains by the end.
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Instant_Palmer22 March 2021
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rcnadolny1 August 2021There is absolutely no reason to give this movie so much hate. Could it be better? Yes. But it could've been a lot worse. It's fun and entertaining. The acting is good. It's a story we've seen before, but it has a nice twist and a good pace. The problem with most people watching movies these days, is they've forgotten how to enjoy a simple movie that doesn't have a 300 million dollar budget. Stop being so miserable.
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blanche-27 September 2021Freddie Highmore, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Sam Riley, Famke Janssen, and Liam Cunningham star in "The Vault," also titled "Way Down."
A young genius engineer, Thom (Highmore) is brought in by a wreck recovery operation, run by a man named Walter, to break into the Bank of Spain's safe to steal a lost treasure which, after Walter's incredible recovery work, will go to the British government if it isn't stolen in time. There are no blueprints and a tight security system.
Once Thom devises a plan, the team will have 105 minutes to complete it, while Spain is immersed in the 2010 Football World Cup final, when the security system will face the crowd of 500,000 watching a giant screen.
I love heist movies, and this one, completely outlandish, made for fun and exciting viewing and was highly entertaining.
When you're dealing with heist films, criticizing them for not being realistic spoils the fun. If you want realism, watch a documentary. -
TxMike10 September 2021This is the type of movie that, if you wanted to analyze it in detail, you could probably find quite a number of "flaws." But doing that would miss the point entirely. It is just an entertaining heist movie, the target is an impenetrable bank vault in Madrid. It s set during the 2010 soccer World Cup where Spain beat The Netherlands 1-0 and Spanish crowds were cheering in the streets and watching on a giant TV screen.
The movie starts with a British ocean exploratory team finding loot on a Spanish ship that sank in 1645, but Spanish authorities intercept them on open water. One piece was of particular interest and the heist in question was planned to recover it. The biggest problem was figuring out the heist.
Freddie Highmore (about 28), who also produced, plays a 22-yr-old college graduate who already had established a reputation for coming up with genius ideas. His job would be to figure out the impossible. Being basically a good, honest guy his only attraction to the job was to solve the impossible. The challenge.
My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library. It is scripted and acted in such a way to create tension at a number of places, the viewer wonders "How will they get out of this one?" Sort of reminded us of "Mission Impossible."
It runs almost 2 hours but it never seemed too long. Good entertaining movie. -
paulclaassen8 August 2021'The Vault' is also known as 'Way Down' in some countries.
I enjoy treasure hunting movies, and 'The Vault' felt like a treasure hunt movie, although it wasn't really. It was captivating in the vein of 'Now you see me'. It is a detailed film, with everything taken into consideration.
Freddie Highmore stars as the film's hero, Thom, who is a computer genius - or simply, a genius altogether. Although not everything was entirely believable, it was presented in an entertaining manner that made it feel fresh and credible. I enjoyed the fact they had to overcome obstacle upon obstacle. The closer they got, the more challenging it became. I found it rather fascinating.
I also enjoyed Liam Cunningham as Walter, the group's leader and the guy who found the treasure in the first place. There's a few twists along the way and a really exciting climax. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Ha-ha, great cliffhanger ending...!
Would I watch it again? Yes. -
Top_Dawg_Critic21 March 2021It was good, really well directed and shot, but the story is nothing new. It's basically a tamed down shortened movie version of Money Heist, but not nearly as cleverly or suspensefully written. Plus I feel Freddie Highmore was a poor casting choice. I kept expecting some dumb equations to pop up like they do in the lame TV series he's in, The Good Doctor. Plus he still had that lost-in-space duh look.
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grw11777 September 2021This was a typical bank heist movie, but on the plus side nobody got maimed or killed, there were no car chases or big Michael Bay explosions.
No it wasn't the best script, lot of plot holes and predictable twists, but it was entertaining just the same.
Very similar to the "Now You See Me" series. Not very realistic and sort of corny. Just don't overthink it. -
abdullahgokcekesgin13 March 2021No reason to write any bad reviews pretty decent movie, good acting, world cup scenes were there to make it more "real", well written and a twist in the end
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Honestly, I'm not sure I watched the same movie as those negative reviewers!
What is the point of watching a movie if we are constantly criticizing it that this and that would work in real life. Why watch a movie at all? A movies purpose is to entertain and I think this movies has accomplished it's goal!
Honest is it Oscar worthy ? No! But is an absolute enjoyment and a little trill. Just sit back relax and watch it for what is . A movie ! That's it nothing more a movie! -
Mohamad02113 March 2021Fun easy to watch. it is a successful dual language entertaining movie. English and Spanish actors did a great job cause often it is a fail when there is another language interferes. However the movie delivers in a creative way to tell a story using the world cup event. Loved the music choices. it worth watching.
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vam-vm3 August 2021The other reviewers pretty much summed it up already. A couple of thoughts tho. Freddie's constant expression of bemusement was not a good look. IMO. Always expect one of the crew to reveal themselves to be a traitor when the prize is won. I find this one to be a stretch tho. For ten yrs he's been Stannis's trusted right hand man, working tirelessly side by side for yrs. He's basically been undercover for ten yrs all for the off chance that Stannis is successful in doing the impossible.
What's with the antagonism he had against Freddie right from the start? Even after Freddie proved his value to the team several times. Freddie even saved the guys life without getting any thanks in return. Of course there were
all kinds of logic be damned moments.
But one thing I didn't understand at all. James was supposed to secure the coins for England, right? But when the computer whiz checked the real coins to see where the treasure was. IT WAS IN THE BANK OF ENGLAND. WTF?
Someone tell me I missed something because that is a really clumsy detail. -
abisio14 April 2021Robbing Banco de Espana has been already made on a NETFLIX series and while the challenges are similar, the development is quite faster here (less than to hours) some good suspense moments.
Walther owns a wreck recovery company whose latest recovered load was sized by the Spanish government and stored in that bank. He knows within that load there is are pieces that point to a bigger treasure.
In order to get that pieces back, he lures Thom (Freddie Highmore, a little static but still charismatic) a young nerd but very smart engineer still trying to save the world and more interested in adventures than money.
There are some other English speaking characters involved; a love interest (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as Lorraine, quite good), a former special units (Sam Riley) and an MI6 shady operative (played by Famke Janssen).
On the Spanish side we the always excellent Jose Coronado (as the bank security chief ) and Luis Tosar as the get anything man. Considering how good they are and that is an Spanish production; they probable deserved more important roles (specially Tosar); but still they get a decent screen time and their brief moments.
The script is adjusted to root for the thieves; so they have to be the "GOOD GUYS" of course.
The first part of the movie where information is being collected requires some suspension of disbelief but still works. The third act when the heist start is very well executed and both sides match their intelligence and mistakes.
The end is well and open joke but satisfying.
In brief is well crafter heist movie; with some original elements and able to keep your interest for almost two hours. Considering other recent movies are far less entertaining; this one is highly recommended. -
scoopdog-3348317 August 2021I found this to be far better than most Netflix movies. A good story line that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. Follows a fairly basic heist movie formula, but there is a reason for the formula, it works! Definitely a good watch.
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Leofwine_draca4 March 2022I wanted to like this Spanish heist thriller a lot as I adore the director's REC and SLEEP TIGHT, but sadly there are too many problems here for it to work. Which is a surprise as heist films are usually easy to make and enjoy. I was put off by Freddie Highmore, who seems to be channelling the autistic doctor he plays in another show, and the female Burn Gorman lookalike fails to impress too. The old timers do better but are given little to do. The vault itself is ridiculously designed and veers more into fantasy than real life, and the science is deeply flawed too. This is a film that works best when the thrills are realistic and there are some good suspense bits, just not enough of them.
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bou3zizi17 March 2021The idea of the film lacks creativity, the viewer feels that he is watching a collection of several scenes from old films. The end is also expected.
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joncj512 April 2021I'd never seen Freddie Highmore previous to this, so I had no preconceptions of his other work. I see a number of low reviews, but unsure of why. I though this was a good film. Have similar films been made before? Well, what topic hasn't been done before? I found it refreshing, interesting and exciting. I didn't care for the computer geek kid, but I overlook characters I dislike and don't let them spoil the rest of the film. Maybe the idea wasn't new, but the story was. I would recommend this movie to most anyone.
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joscon-1661620 April 2021Overall story was interesting. Several very unbelievable parts, but what heist movie doesnt have that. Decent amount of tension but the cast didnt have a lot of chemistry like what there was in the Oceans movies. Still worth a watch if you like heist films.
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SnoopyStyle17 March 2021In 2008, Walter Moreland (Liam Cunningham) leads a team salvaging a wreck when the Spanish police confiscates the treasure. Unbeknownst to the authorities, the treasure is more than what it appears to be. It's a road map to a greater treasure and Moreland needs to steal it back. The big problem is that the government has placed it in an unbreachable vault in the Bank of Spain. In order to solve the problem, Moreland hires genius engineering college student Thom Laybrick (Freddie Highmore) who is tired of being recruited by big oil. They have an opportunity during the 2010 World Cup.
This is a fun little caper. It's not that complicated. Liam Cunningham is always great. The two problems are Freddie Highmore and the vault. Freddie is always going to look like a kid and I can't see him as a romantic lead. Astrid Bergès-Frisbey may as well pat him on the head. He is probably never going to heat it up. He's going to be an adorable puppy even on his death bed. The second is the vault construction. I don't really see how it's set up. It's essentially the gold idol in Indiana Jones. In Indy, the premise doesn't need explaining because it's such a small part of it and it is what it is. In this movie, the scale construct is central to the story and so it needs to work. Couldn't they place more counterweight which they do in the emergency situation anyways? Couldn't they just do that earlier? I'm not sure if the story is mechanically sound. Overall, this movie is a good escapist fare although two hours may be unnecessarily long. -
mariannelisabeth13 March 2021Refreshingly easy watch. No politics or "woke" crap just a easygoing popcorn movie. Wanted to give it 7/10 but just because it was free of all 2021 boring stuff I give it a nice 8/10. Watch this without worrying about getting hit over the head with real live crap and just enjoy!
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Calicodreamin1 August 2021The storyline was pretty basic but well executed. Cinematography and acting were better than I expected. The plot had a solid attempt at a twist although it was terribly predictable. Overall an enjoyably mindless watch.
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handycapt110 April 2021This started off as your typical 'principled' heist movie with shady government agents, double crossing heroes, and a man motivated by just doing what's right/ They had to break into the unknowable unbreakable vault - of course.
Well, the vault floor was a giant SCALE - and if any motion was detected the room would flood - killing everybody.
Uhhhhhh, ok. So how did they get the 4 treasure chests in the middle of the room?
Maybe our intrepid band of thieves should have just found the OFF switch the bank apparently used to put stuff in there.
This isn't a plot hole - it's a story killing absurdity. -
Its far from perfect but i really enjoyed it and got my fix of bank of spain being robbed whilst i wait for "money heist" season 5
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jdticktalk20 March 2021This is the type of movie you hope is cleverly cast and written.....with a smashing end.....but...alas....not here! There's little chemistry between characters.....much of the writing is improbable.....and the end makes no sense. We're supposed to believe that a 500 year old treasure ended up being buried.....where?....you're kidding.....right?
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Xstal12 March 2021... but god help us all as the most conjured, contrived and concocted, made for tv, middle of the road, median, mean and average bank heist story goes bust and burst while flooding, flailing and failing to entertain through an exceptionally unbalanced, uneven, off centre and out of kilter plot - the securely locked door left open for a part two suggested, but let's hope not.
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davejones26 August 2021I liked the motivation of the heist leader--the idea that the vault contained treasure that had been taken from him and was rightfully his. That was nice.
The old and ingenious mechanism at the center of the vault was also an original plot element--even if it was ridiculously easy to access.
Yes, the world's most secure vault seemed. . . Less than secure. But I was willing to overlook that. Most heist movies are less than fully believable.
But you know where they finally lost me? It was about three quarters of the way through the movie, the day of the big heist, where in order to get to where they need to go, the characters must do the thing that is by now so cliché that I thought that it would have been banned from every script written since 1970.
That's right, they crawled through the air ducts. By now, doesn't everyone know that they don't make air ducts big enough for a man to crawl through (especially in the world's most secure bank) and they're far too flimsy to support the weight of an adult anyway?
I don't mind a few moments that stretch credulity. But I do mind hoary old clichés that haven't been believable for 50 years, now.