The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Written by Stephen Cyrus Sepher and Max Adams, ingenuity and common sense seem to be missing from Scott Mann’s unoriginal and generic low-budget thriller, Heist –and it’s a problem that not even the great Robert De Niro can do anything about.

After a seemingly violent intro, we are introduced to The Pope (De Niro in one of his sleepiest roles to date); a feared casino owner who rules over his business and his people with an iron fist, alongside his equally fearful right-hand-man and enforcer, Dog (Chestnut). Working as Swan Casino’s blackjack card dealer is Vaughn (Morgan); an ex-military man trying to earn enough money to pay off his young daughter’s medical bills due to her ongoing cancer treatments.

Faced with a deadline to come up with $300,000 or his daughter loses her spot in hospital, Vaughn finds himself embroiled in some funny-business with casino security guard, Cox (Bautista), who along with a team of robbers, is planning to rob the Pope.

With elements taken from other – better – movies such as Speed – there's a lot of time spent on a hijacked speeding bus – John Q and even Ocean’s Eleven, there’s very little creativity or vision in Heist – everything just feels very routine. The dialogue is poor – some of the lines will most definitely fall under the ‘some of the most ridiculous things said in movie history’ category – and the attempt of inducing any substance or emotional depth is quickly derailed by the story’s loose approach to reason and logic.

It’s yet another disappointing turn from the Oscar-winning actor, Robert De Niro – it’s becoming difficult to believe that this is the same actor who played Jake La Motta in Raging Bull or Vito Corleone in The Godfather – who once again sleepwalks through the motions of a ‘ruthless’ casino owner who is forced to mend burned bridges when faced with his own mortality. Morgan, on the other hand, gives a slightly stronger offering while everyone else, including Bautista and Carano, are as bland and flavourless as the very film that they’ve found themselves in.