We must acknowledge that complex heist films are utterly preposterous, involving improbable insider knowledge, unlikely coincidence and impossible split-second timing.
That doesn’t make them any less fun.
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| Having already navigated an impressive series of obstacles, our heroes — from left, Thom (Freddie Highmore), James (Sam Riley) and Lorraine (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey) — are stunned by what comes next. |
The caper also involves a twist I’ve not previously encountered: an objective so mysterious — the eponymous vault — that our protagonists have no idea what they don’t know about it … and yet must crack it.
But that’s getting ahead of things.
The setting is roughly a decade ago. Professional marine salvage expert Walter Moreland (Liam Cunningham) and his longtime partner James (Sam Riley) have just concluded a decades-long hunt for the remains of a 17th century ship, half-buried on the ocean floor off the coast of Spain. Moreland knows that the booty includes a set of coins used by the ship’s captain, Sir Francis Drake, to reveal where he buried vast treasures that he plundered during his career as a privateer.
Treasures that the British government wishes to retrieve, since Drake had a tendency to cheat his Elizabethan sponsors (so this story would have us believe). Ergo, Moreland has been getting clandestine assistance from a shadowy MI6 operative (Famke Janssen).
Alas, before Moreland can search the many recovered chests for the coins, his operation is intercepted by the Spanish Coast Guard. Since he lacks a legal salvage claim, the Spanish government seizes everything and locks it in an impregnable vault, somewhere within Madrid’s historic Bank of Spain. The nature of this vault, reputed to be the world’s most secure, has remained a carefully guarded secret for 70 years.
Elsewhere, 22-year-old Cambridge University engineering student Thom (Freddie Highmore) has just become a media sensation, courted by all manner of tech corporations, thanks to the ingenious manner in which he averted what could have become a major environmental crisis. Thom is a think-outside-the-box improviser with little interest in corporate fealty; he’s more intrigued by solving “impossible tasks” for their own sake.
Which makes him ideal for Moreland’s purposes.
Thom, hooked by the salvage veteran’s enigmatic approach, soon meets the rest of the team: Lorraine (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey), a talented con artist and pickpocket; Klaus (Axel Stein), a genius hacker — ubiquitous, in modern heist movies — Simon (Luis Tosar), an equally talented logistics expert and “procurer”; and James, who has nothing but contempt for this wet-behind-the-ears “college boy.”
James’ scorn is understandable, given his well-honed skills as a mercenary and long-ago MI6 field agent. Thom is a wealth of potentially hazardous contradictions: smart but impetuous, bold but naïve, reckless and far from athletic. Riley delivers a wealth of sneers, caustic remarks and impatient rolls of the eye; James definitely is a jerk, but his doubts aren’t unreasonable.
The script’s first heavy lift is the notion that the altruistic, true-blue Thom — clearly a “do good and save the world” type — would sign on to such a blatantly illegal endeavor. Fortunately, that’s where Highmore’s casting proves inspired; he effortless sells Thom’s mesmerized gaze, as he’s seduced by the challenge (much the way he behaves so similarly each week, on television’s The Good Doctor).
The unknown vault notwithstanding, other factors further complicate any potential scheme. Moreland’s crew has only a few days, before Spanish museum archivists open the chests and examine the contents. The bank itself is protected by state-of-the-art technology, and if security head Gustavo (Jose Coronado) senses anything amiss, he can summon scores of armed soldiers from the military garrison across the street.
Moreland’s only advantage: the throngs of people filling Plaza Cibeles each day, between the bank and garrison, as they enthusiastically watch a massive outdoor screen televising Spain’s advance in the 2010 World Cup.
Highmore is well supported by the engaging ensemble. Bergès-Frisbey is cool, flirty and enigmatic; Lorraine initially is amused by Thom’s innocence, but gradually begins to respect his sudden insights. Bergès-Frisbey also is well-served by a series of stunning outfits and impeccably coifed wigs, courtesy of costume designer Marian Coromina.
Stein is appropriately scruffy as Klaus — do “genius hackers” come any other way? — and his singular focus makes us wonder if the guy ever sees daylight. Tosar is marvelous in a subtle manner, frequently veering close to quiet comic relief, as he grows ever more excited when his country’s beloved soccer team continues to advance, day by day.
Cunningham — well remembered as Davos Seaworth, from Game of Thrones — exudes competence, and grants Moreland the rugged charisma of a born leader. We also sense honor and team loyalty; this isn’t a commander who would send his squad on a suicide mission.
The film is divided into two distinct acts: the set-up and gradual discovery of the vault’s secrets; followed by the suspenseful attempt to get inside, which takes almost an entire hour. Balagueró and editor David Gallart capably build and maintain tension, particularly when things go wrong (as they always do, in heist films).
One notable complaint: the shrieking, deafening pop tunes that occasionally punctuate Arnau Bataller’s unremarkable score, particularly during montage sequences: hardly an appropriate atmospheric choice.
The overall result will feel familiar to longtime movie fans — think Ocean’s Eleven blended with The Italian Job — but that’s no crime, when the package is assembled this skillfully.
And the final scene is quite droll.
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