Tower Heist

Starring: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Alan Alda, Tea Leoni, Michael Pena, Judd Hirsch, Gabourey Sidibe
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: When the crew of a luxury high-rise learn they've been swindled out their retirement money by a Ponzi schemer (Alan Alda), they decide to rob him of his emergency $20 million fund.

Review:

Tim: For most of Tower Heist, I actually had a pretty good time. The story wasn't amazing, but the cast was game and it was fairly fun. It might not have been a great movie, but it seemed pretty solid. Unfortunately, the end of the film is so lazy and so poorly written that it almost completely ruins the movie. The film's conclusion felt like the writers thought that the audience would be so incredibly stupid that no one would notice the massive, awe-inducing plot holes. It felt like a personal attack on our intelligence. I hated the end of this movie.

Let's start with the cast, because that is the film's greatest strength. Ben Stiller is fairly good in the lead role. His accent isn't bad, and he brings a good deal of strength and experience to his role (him running the tower seemingly effortlessly was one of the best aspects of the film). I liked Stiller here. Eddie Murphy was a nice addition as well. Murphy needs to do more comedies that aren't squarely aimed at children. It was nice seeing him in a more edgy role. I didn't love his character, though, and besides one or two scenes, he was only slightly above average.

Casey Affleck was a weird choice. I like him, but he felt out of place here. He was fine in the role, but he just did not fit with the rest of the cast. I did love seeing Matthew Broderick here. Broderick is such an underrated actor, and it is nice seeing him in a role where he actually has something to do. He was a great choice for this film. Alan Alda was enjoyable as the scheming, sleazy businessman. Tea Leoni was also a great addition (this film features quite a few good actors who haven't had great opportunities in their careers). Leoni is enjoyable, and I wish that she got more screen time. Michael Pena is fun- I really think he gets overlooked, and I always enjoy his performances. He was a little underwhelming here, but still fun. The cast as a whole might not be perfect, but there are so many good actors here that it is great fun watching them all together.

The problem with the movie is the story. The basic idea is fun- employees who lose all their retirement savings decide to steal their employer's money. That is an exciting, timely story. The problem is the whole heist. It is just poorly written from start to finish. The heist is not believable in the least, and how it all plays out is just stupid. I had a really, really hard time buying anything I was seeing on screen. The script is awfully written. I wish I could go into more detail, but I do not want to spoil the movie. Let's just say that there are gigantic plot holes that simply do not make any sense. And, the worst part of the movie is the "big reveal" (you know all these heist movies have a big reveal where you find out how the heist was pulled off). The big reveal is so awful and so mind-numbingly terrible that I could barely believe my eyes. The writers concocted the most lazy, idiotic ending, and they expected the audience to just lap it up. It was offensive to me.

So, while there was actually a lot I liked about Tower Heist, the ending of the film completely ruined it. Brett Ratner deserves a good deal of blame because he went along with it. The script needed to be rewritten (almost the whole heist is weak), but it was not. This ends up being an okay movie with some massive fatal flaws. I did not care for it very much.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



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