KING OF THIEVES is the third film I've seen dealing with the true-life Hatton Garden robbery in which a gang of elderly thieves made off with millions in stolen jewellery. The first was an awful independent production starring a guy from DOCTORS; the less said about it the better. The second, starring Larry Lamb, was better, but uneven. Sadly, KING OF THIEVES falls somewhere between the two camps, a film let down by very poor scripting.
The impressive thing about this is the heavyweight cast, with numerous old-timers showing up for affect. Not only do you get Michael Caine as the lead, but he's joined by Jim Broadbent (giving a surprisingly sinister turn), Tom Courtenay, Ray Winstone and plenty of others. But the only thing they're given to do in this laboured, paceless story is to constantly bark profanity at each other. There's no wit here, just one crude expression and comeback after another, and it quickly becomes grating. The direction is perfunctory and despite adequate production values, you can't help but feel this is a wasted opportunity.
The impressive thing about this is the heavyweight cast, with numerous old-timers showing up for affect. Not only do you get Michael Caine as the lead, but he's joined by Jim Broadbent (giving a surprisingly sinister turn), Tom Courtenay, Ray Winstone and plenty of others. But the only thing they're given to do in this laboured, paceless story is to constantly bark profanity at each other. There's no wit here, just one crude expression and comeback after another, and it quickly becomes grating. The direction is perfunctory and despite adequate production values, you can't help but feel this is a wasted opportunity.