Bus 657 (Heist) (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
Robert De Niro has been around for a very long time now, and has been the star of many movies. We remember him shining in movies as Taxi Driver or the Godfather series, but like everyone else, star actors such as him tend to wind things down when they reach a certain age. Quality tends to be a bit on the downside as well, and leading roles tend to come by a lot less, making certain actors become more like promotional tools thanks to their cameos in certain movies. At first Bus 657 (Heist in other countries) seemed like another cliché movie that did its best to snare a famous actor to do a cameo, in order to lure the crowd. We are happy to say that we were rather mistaken.
Vaughn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is a fallen from grace croupier in the Swan casino, that is known for its rather dubious reputation. While Vaughn was once Pope’s (Robert De Niro) favorite, he decided to put love and family above his career in the casino, or at least the illegal activities run by Pope. In Vaughn’s absence, Pope assigned the role of right-hand to Dog (Morris Chestnut) and it’s clear that his new trustee will do whatever it takes to keep Pope’s operation ‘safe’. Killing and torture seem to be Dog’s thing and life tends to go on, even with Pope slowly going in retirement. Nonetheless, Vaughn is barely keeping his head above water, as his daughter is terminally ill, and only an unaffordable operation might be able to save her. Vaughn tries to ask Pope for help, as a favor for old times’ sake. It is no surprise that when Pope refuses Vaughn’s plea for help, things get rather heated and it ends up costing Vaughn his job.
During one of Vaughn’s last days on the job he was originally approached by one of the bouncers, Cox (Dave Bautista), who subtly discussed the possibility of stealing a huge portion of the casino’s dirty money. Even though Vaughn opposed the idea at first, he agrees to go along with it now, as he has the necessary knowledge of how things truly work in the casino. While the initial offset seemed doable, things go wrong, causing their driver, Mickey (Tyson Sullivan) to run off before the rest of the group of thieves make it back. In the process of running Dante (Stephen Cyrus Sepher) was shot, making it even harder to escape properly. Only one option is left, run for it, hijack the closest bus, and hopefully get away as far as possible. Sadly, the police is immediately on their tail, which means that now the police and Pope would be out for their blood. Luckily, Vaughn doesn’t want to hurt anybody, as he simply wants to save his little girl, and thanks to his calm demeanor he is able to convince Kris (Gina Carano), the police officer following them to let them through a roadblock, as Cox will otherwise kill some of the hostages. The chase is on.
For an action movie, the pace might not be the fastest, but things trot along rapidly enough to keep things exciting. The action portions are equally spread over the entire movie, and the basic plot provides enough context in order to shut off your brain and enjoy what is happening onscreen. At least, originally we assumed the plot to be extremely simple, but there are enough twists and turns to present you with a rather surprising action movie, instead of the same old bland stereotypical movie we get bombarded with every few months.
Acting performances prove to be great, especially for a simple action movie. Even though Robert De Niro already proved himself countless times when it comes to his mobster personas, he is still able to surprise his viewers with proper acting performances, even at the age of 72. While Dave Bautista does his best to play the worked up Cox, it’s actually Jeffrey Dean Morgan who steals the show. Jeffrey does a great job in playing a very loveable criminal, especially thanks to his very calm demeanor. Mark-Paul Gosselaar makes an appearance in this movie as well, as one of the agents who is following Vaughn. He does a great job in playing out his role well, while for us it’s still a bit weird seeing him play such serious things, even though it has been a long time since he starred as Zack from Saved by the Bell.
This Blu-ray release of Bus 657 does not come with any extra features, except for the handful of trailers from other Splendid Film releases. Sadly, these trailers mostly feature movies that have been out for several months. Nonetheless, there wasn’t that much extra content this movie could have brought to the table, thus the extras aren’t really missed.
Conclusion
Bus 657 (Heist) is a very entertaining action movie that might just surprise you. What originally seemed like a bland cliché plot, proved to be original and very entertaining, with suspense creeping up on you in every nook and cranny. If you’re into a sobby story and like it combined with sufficient action scenes, this movie might just do the trick for you.
No Comments