GOING IN STYLE Review, Depressing and Refreshing All At Once

Going In Style (2017) is a film about three old, desperate men who are at the other end of their lives, and nothing is going well for them. Their old company is moving shop and not honoring their retirement plan. This and other things are going sour and they're tired of not being able to even afford the pie day at their local diner.

Morgan Freeman movies on Amazon.

Then one day Joe (Michael Caine) is at the bank that is taking his home from him, and bank robbers come in, smooth as silk, timed to the last minute, they got in and out. Later, Joe gets the idea that it looked pretty easy so why not? They don't have anything to lose. If they get away with it, they've got it made. If they get caught, they have room and board and literally, a better health plan than they have now.

So with his friends, Willie (Morgan Freeman) and Al (Alan Arkin), Joe, with the help of a man named Jesus (John Ortiz), the concoct a brilliant scheme that seems pretty fool-proof.

But let's not forget FBI special agent Hamer (Matt Dillon), who is the man on the trail of all the regions bank robbers.

- - -

This film is categorized as a crime comedy film, directed by Zach Braff (Garden State, Scrubs, Wish I Was Here, Oz The Great and Powerful), is indeed a comedy, but more of a subdued kind of classic joking comedy rather than an in-your-face, or over-the-top kind of comedy.

It's a bit dark in the beginning, watching these retired old men struggling through life, but it does pick up as the story develops.

Yes some of the humor is a bit classic, but still well timed and depending on your mood, could be pretty funny to watch.

Overall, it's not a bad film to kill some time with and if you're a fan of any of these actors, I think you'll love it. Arkin is more of the wise ass than the other guys and is pretty fun to watch. Freeman is the pragmatic sarcastic character while Caine does play an old, retired guy pretty well. It's a very different role for him, that's for sure. I would call this less a comedy, and more of a 'getting even with the system' kind of film.

-

IMDb users gave the film a 6.6/10 while Rotten Tomatoes rating was at 49%. I'm not sure what the critics hated but as usual, they're not in tune with the fans. They're close, but still.

It's airing on HBO at the time of this writing.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Follow Cinema Static on: