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A lighthearted action/comedy with great performances that's worth checking out in the theater.

Directory Barry Levinson (`Wag the Dog') delivers a winner this time with a fun, fast-paced flick with likeable characters and good writing…a rarity this year! It's about a pair of likeable bank robbers named Joe and Terry (Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton), who escape from jail and go on a well-executed bank robbing spree and become famous as the `sleepover bandits' for their pattern of staying over the bank manager's house the night before and cleaning out the bank as he lets them in first thing in the morning. They are saving to retire and open a South-of-the-Border nightclub when they meet a beautiful lady named Kate (Cate Blanchett of `The Gift'), who they both fall in love with and vice-versa, which then complicates their friendship and trust.
The robbers decide to tell their own story to Darren Head (Bobby Slayton), an America's Most Wanted-style TV show host at gunpoint in his home, where they become the subject of media frenzy, as they are the most friendly and likeable heist duo since `Bonnie and Clyde' or `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. They never kill anyone and always seem to get away just in time, with the help of their willing hostage (Blanchett) and trusty driver Harvey (Troy Garity of `Bohemia') Although fairly predictable (with the exception of the ending), this movie keeps your attention through the full two hours with the help of an especially solid performance by Billy Bob Thornton. Like his dim, yet funny role in `The Simple Plan', he this time plays an idiot savant hypochondriac who is always worried about some kind of fate, like a brain tumor or a heart attack. Bruce Willis is no slouch in this movie either. He does his part by playing the charming yet dangerous role that he does best. If you're just feeling like you need a good laugh right now, this is probably for you. It is lighthearted, yet fast-paced enough to hold the viewer's interest. The performances alone are worth the price of admission. Go check this one out in the theater or make it a high priority rental when it comes out on video.

Pretty good comedy/romance/caper movie about bank robbers, a hypochondriac and bored housewives. Very good in parts. Needed a good edit. 3 Flys Out Of Five

Bandits starring Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett and Bruce Willis won't get into many people's best flick lists but I'll guarantee that there will be scenes in the movie that will be remembered. Willis and Thornton play Joe and Terry who escape from prison and begin a spree of bank robberies. They become the `sleep over bank robbers', named because they go the bank manager's house the night before the robbery, stay with the manager and his family and then head off to the bank the next morning to knock over the bank, manager in tow. Along the way they encounter bored house wife Kate (Blanchett) who joins with the lads looking for excitement. She gets it, in loads, having relationships with both the boys as well as helping out with the heists. The mood stays pretty jocular, Bandits is far from a serious caper film or even a romance of meaning. It is spiced with Blanchett's high energy acting style, Thornton's quirky joviality and Willis's solid urbanity. There's a crackerjack prison break using a cement truck, a great car crash later on and a very nice romantic scene or two, especially one on a beach. Blanchett sings badly. It's funny. So there are plenty of fine elements, not the least of which is Billy Bob Thornton as a rampant hypochondriac. Still Bandits loses its focus somehow through its middle third, not knowing how to move from snappy romantic heist movie through the boy loses girl bit into its rather contrived finish. Pace might have been the problem. Director Barry Levinson (Sleepers, Disclosure, Sphere, Wag The Dog, Rain Man, Good Morning Vietnam) has directed an uneven swag of films. Bandits will sit somewhere in the middle of the (much larger) bunch. And again we have a film that goes for over two hours, a movie that would have benefited greatly from a careful twenty minutes of pruning.
Three Brain Tumored Flys Out Of Five

Great Fun with Willis, Thornton, & Blanchett

This is a comedy-caper film that might easily have been titled THE ODD COUPLE ROB BANKS. It is well acted and cleverly scripted, with dozens of situations and conversations that are very funny. Of course, disaster threatens at the end, but, because we know this is a comedy, we expect that it will be avoided in some way, hopefully in a surprising but fairly plausible manner. Although viewers who pay attention will be able to guess the actual happy ending correctly, this ability will not detract from their enjoyment any more than it did if they correctly foresaw the ending to the film DAVE. For contrast, this film is far more enjoyable than HEIST, an unsavory happy-ending caper movie starring Hackman and DiVito.

Could have been better.

Bandits will include itself in many of the films which came out in the nineties, which knew how to start and how to end, but had a lot of trouble in the middle. (I can think of The Thomas Crown Affair for one)There are traces of Butch Cassidy, The Sting, and many other films about conmen and thieves. This film tried to be more. While Bruce Willis was the action type, we have Billy Bob Thornton, whose hypochondriac role fits perfectly on Woody Allen. But Thornton pulls it off well and everything is well on it path, till the girl comes along.Not only inclusion of Cate Blanchett as the bored housewife seeking adventure turmoil the two bandits relationship, it also succeeded it making the movie too long. There was a lot that could have happen, but did not happen simply because the scriptwriters fell in love with Blanchett's character. Nothing wrong with Blanchett of course. She is fine, enjoyable but spends too much time not helping the Bandits the stuff they do the best...rob banks.Nevertheless, the film was still enjoyable. There are genuine moments of humour, coupled with great performance from the trio. Good film, only the damn middle part. Not something I would remember in my old age.

"Bandits" thieves your valuable time

Despite the inclusion of the U2 hit "Beautiful Day" in the movie trailer, there is no daylight in this confusing, silly farce of a movie. With the sole exception of Thornton's character, I found no reason to sit through this. Unlikely scenarios collide with plodding scenes to reach an absolutely stoopid ending.

Don't watch this movie unless you want to laugh...

It's very hard to find a good comedy that, like yaakov98 down below says, doesn't succumb to gratuitous sex, violence, and foul langugage. Most comedies are about a laugh an hour this one kept my whole family wanting more at the end. I suggest you don't listen to any of these reviews and just watch the movie for yourself. You wouldn't be reading this if you didn't want to.
Billy Bob Thorton has the funniest lines in this movie.

If you are are terribly bored...

... and have too much money you could watch this one. But I wouldn't recommend it. Compared to all the other crap Hollywood is spitting out, Bandits is decent. The storyline is brainless and foreseeable. The jokes are mostly old and unfunny. The acting is plain bad (will Bruce Willis ever learn to act?) to mediocre (we have seen far better performances by Blanchett and Thornton). But as I said, by Hollywood standards Bandits is a decent movie. On the other hand you could waste your time with other things, i.e. counting the waterdrops in the atlantic ocean or teaching Willis how to act (okay, don't even try that, it's hopeless).

Fun movie, but I'm confused about the imagery

I highly recommend Bandits as a comedy. Cate Blanchett should get a golden globe and an oscar for her performance. Willis and Thorton were tremendous.Levinson and (presumably) the art director threw in a lot of visual touches dealing with color. Bright colors appeared throughout the picture. Red and blue were prominent. When Cate's character was introduced, it was through the blue light of a refrigerator. She was shown as a red head with a blue top. That's just one example. There's the pink convention of makeup saleswomen. "I've never seen so much pink in my life", said the hotel clerk. Billy-Bob's character professes that he doesn't like black and white movies. By contrast, the two bank robbers often wore very neutral colored outfits when making a heist.If I were a student in film class, this might provide grist for a term paper, but I can't figure out what the color themes were saying. Obviously, we saw some very colorful personalities in the three main characters. But I'm not able to formulate the thesis statement about the color imagery that would net me the good grade on said hypothetical term paper.Any ideas? They had to be going for something with all the subtle color references. How about not so subtle. There's a shot of a building in one scene where the word "COLOR" was painted in larger-than-life letters. They linger on the shot. The film makers are practically hitting us over the head with it. But what about it? Is Willis blue and Thorton red? Is Cate red and blue because she can't decide? I don't know. The other primary color, yellow, is seen only a couple of times. The yellow hot rod driven by the guy with the home movie camera and the yellow dolly they used to transport some bank money.So we had a promising visual imagery premise, but I didn't see the payoff.F.P.S. I love black and white movies

Awesome Movie

This movie was simply outstanding. Willis delivers his best performance since Sixth Sense - showing that he can, in fact, be a successful comedic actor. Thornton & Blanchett delivered fantastic support roles that could have been considered leading roles in their own rights - they were that good. Go See This Movie!!!

A WASTE OF INTELLECT

Holy Cow was this a bad movie. If you liked epic dumps like Bull Durham or Get Shorty, you might think this horrible film is hysterical. For the rest of us, here goes: the movie is about two bank robbers out for (you guessed it!!) one last crime. Then enters the wacky, indecisive woman that comes between said bank robbers. Comedy is supposed to ensue, but man oh man does it flop. Billy Bob Thornton will look back in repulsion over this one, and Bruce Willis had better character development in "Blind Date." As far as the female lead, well, if you just loooove Julliane Moore, this woman is your style. Bandits delivers as many laughs as witnessing an electrocution. I would suggest either version of "The Thomas Crown Affair" for anyone looking for a funny AND well written movie along the same lines.

Fun Caper Movie

This one was a lot of fun to watch. Not a particularly relevant movie, but what is entertainment for anyway? And it's not the kind of sophomoric, crude humor that can make you feel embarrassed about enjoying it.I particular enjoyed Billy Bob Thornton. He is a master thespian. He brings you on a ride into the psyche of any of the characters that he creates, and it is usually a fun trip. Bruce Willis is solid as usual and doesn't get in the way of the story.I thought the twist at the end was just a little too unbelievable, but it was (again to overuse the word) fun! This movie is definitely worth a couple of hours to watch.

I liked it, and I don't think I'm shallow

A good collection of leads, some quirky characters, a nice structure for telling the story and a bit of feelgood malarky made me enjoy this movie. I generally prefer non-linear telling and half suggested storylines, and although this was mainstream and quite obvious by my standards, the above features made me rate it highly. It must have bombed in the UK, because I hadn't heard of it before it came onto Sky movies, despite the strong cast. I was prepared to be bored by it, but despite Bruce W doing his usual acting ability (see The Story of Us) I felt his character worked in the ensemble. I like the fact he has rubbish hair and isn't afraid to show it.Better than expected, as good as it should have been.

This is ridiculous

Appalling comedy/robbery movie about two mis-matched escaped jailbirds and their moll. This was so bad that I can't recall much of it. Over-stylish but still dull.
Only the ending picks up (when it's too late). That Bonnie Tyler song is terrible (yes I know, it's a girl's tune). Was Willis dressed as Midnight Cowboy in some scenes?

Hilariously entertaining.

It's not a film that's about the direction or the plot or anything technical. This film relies solely on the relationship between it's characters and boy does it succeed. Most of this is due to the great performances from Willis, Thornton and Blanchett who all come together perfectly with hilarious chemistry and they manage to pull the romantic scenes off quite well also. Cate Blanchett is the highlight of the film for me and it's probably my favorite performance of hers just because of how willing she is to just throw herself out there and be as insane as possible. Billy Bob Thornton being cast as the paranoid hypochondriac Terry was the perfect decision, as was Bruce Willis as the intelligent, brutish Joe. Everyone hits their marks perfectly and create a hilarious, entertaining adventure film that I can re-watch over and over again.

terrible movie

this was such an awful movie. despite the fact they had great actors and actresses in it. i read that the same person did 'wag the dog'. that was one of the worse movies i had ever seen, so i guess i'm not surprised. if you're into prairie home companion or something like that then you might enjoy it. if you are a red blooded American you won't. well this review is 5 years late but if i save just one person 3 dollars in rental than i have done a good deed.Billy bob thornton deserves much better than this. Kate Blanchett, boy is she beautiful, i feel sorry for her. By submitting this comment you are agreeing to the terms laid out in our Copyright Statement. Your submission must be your own original work. Your comments will normally be posted on the site within 2-3 business days. Comments that do not meet the guidelines will not be posted. Please write in English only. HTML or boards mark-up is not supported though paragraph breaks will be inserted if you leave a blank line between paragraph.

Incredibly boring film

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** This movie is one of Bruce Willis worst movies except from Color of the night. First of all Bruce is wearing one of the most ridicoulus wigs Ive seen yet. Youre bald Bruce. Either accept it or wear a wig that looks like real hair. The wig alone makes me take Bruce less seriously than usual. Now for the plot, if you can call it that. The movie starts out okay but from the minute thay kidnap the very annoying woman Kate, its downhill from there. The way they rob banks is done the same way over and over again. And its not even funny or clever because all the cool moments are shown in the trailer. If youve seen the trailer, youve seen the movie. This movie has very little action and too much talking. Its overlong and ccould have easily been 30 minutes shorter. The movie concentrates most on the incredibly boring lovestory and very little on the bankrobberies. Cate Blanchett is, Im sorry to say so, not attractive at all. Especially not in this film. She looks old and the red hair annoyed me too. And Billy Bob Thornton, who is also wearing a ridicoulus wig, overacts to the point where I wished the cops would shoot him. Hes not funny at all. Neither is Bruce. In fact none of the moments that are suppose to be funny are funny at all. Because theyve already been shown in the trailer. The only good things about the film are the beginning and the twist in the end. Clever done. But the fact that Kate choose both men and they both accept sharing her seems unrealistic and really stupid.

Clever, quirky, action-packed fun

Don't listen to what anyone else says. You've got to give this movie a chance. I did, and completely LOVED it! If you've got a penchant for clever, quirky, action-packed films you'll probably agree.

The script is brilliant, the plot is unique and entertaining, and the characters are all very likeable. Billy Bob Thornton gives a fantastic performance as Terry Collins. And, for once, we can appreciate a Bruce Willis action-movie that entertains WITHOUT all the blood and violence that is so typical of many of his other movies. Cate Blanchett is an amazing actress. If you watch her interview in the bonus feature, you won't believe it's the same person that plays Kate Wheeler in the movie. WOW!

Make sure to watch for "Beavers and Ducks!" -- arguably the most hilarious line in the entire movie.

Watchable film!

This sincere tribute to Sundance Kid thirty years later in the middle of the urban jungle works out with singular efficency due the spontaneus organic chemistry between Norton and Willis as a pair of robbers bank who bet for a new and better life in Acapulco: the golden dream, the paradise in the earth.


This picture rides between the tragedy and the comedy with surprising sucess due perhaps to a witty script that comtains clever twists of fate. Maybe the announced ending from the first minutes of the film was somehow an anti climax, because since this point you will assist to a real chronicle with the common story, from his unexpeceted and never planned getaway and the casual appearance of the lovely and talented actress Cate Blanchet, one of the top ten in the world. She displays a sharp sense of humor as the desperate wife of an boring executive in search of new emotions, imagine on a distant cousin of Geena Davis in Thelma and Louise.

The story is carried on a premonitory interview twenty four hours before ... and so the dramatic facts are shown through this curtain. Levinson shows once more a discipline and astonishing rapport through the comedy. He is not known precisely by this profile, exactly.

Far from pretending be a masterpiece the film works out as an entertainment vehicle to have a good fun and nothing else. But the Sundence Kid paradigm is undoubtedly its highest merit.

LOL Hilarious romance comedy

Although this was bought for my sister-in-law, who found it LOL funny, it is one of my favorite comedies of all time. Billy Bob Thorton's hypocondriac character is played perfectly. What a great performance! It is not only hilarious, but the story line is fantastic. It's a fast paced adventure about bank robbers who take on a "kidnapped partner" (Cate Blanchett)who has a husband who is more concerned about himself, and his job than his wife. Bruce Willis, gives a wonderful performance as the ringleader of the "Sleep over Bandits". The ending was surprising, so I won't give it away...but this is just one movie that I can watch over and over and laugh every time! Highly recommend for those of you who enjoy a great comedy, great adventure, story line and LOL comedy. The word "drama" doesn't fit this movie, unless you consider Billy Bob as a drama queen. Grab the popcorn and enjoy.

Pretty Good, Nothing Spectacular

There really isn't a whole lot I can say about this film, it was pretty good, but nothing to get really excited about. The story was fairly interesting, and the characters were pretty cool, but ultimately it was just OK. I must admit though that there were a few scenes that really got me laughing, but there were only a few.As for the acting, I thought everybody did a great job in the film. Bruce Willis did a fine job, but it's nothing different than what we've all seen before. Billy Bob Thornton did a great job, his character is VERY bizarre.
Cate Blanchett did a good job as well, and she looked great throughout the whole film. I also really liked Troy Garity, I'd never heard of him before or seen him in any other films, but I thought he played an interesting/strange character.All in all, I liked it, but it wasn't anywhere near my favorites. I hope you like the film. Thanks for reading,-Chris