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The Age of Commercialism

An Exercise In Nonsense

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

"Stander" is the true story of Andre Stander, who was a police captain turned notorious bank robber in South Africa. The story goes that he participated in killing during a riot and in the line of duty and became disillusioned. In real life, he wasn't present during that riot. Some people think he simply became bored with what he was doing.Stander(Thomas Jane) decided to rob banks, sometimes during his lunch hour, and he was pretty good at it - so good that he could return to the bank later as the investigating officer. Eventually, his own comrades on the force caught him and he went to prison. There he met Allan Heyl (David O'Hara) and Lee McCall (Dexter Fletcher). After they escaped, they worked together in the robberies and became the most wanted men in the country.What was so good about this film is that it displayed the incredible audacity of these men and especially Stander - the prison breakout, the robberies, stealing cars - remarkable and in plain sight. The acting is superb. Thomas Jane is an American and I have to agree to comments about the accent - it was excellent. He portrayed a good-looking, disillusioned young man with a gorgeous wife who was looking for a different kind of high. He enjoyed going against the system, and one could tell that from the performance. The other actors were excellent as well.Allan Heyl, by the way, was paroled in 2005.A very exciting and absorbing film, sometimes outrageous, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and sometimes sad.

When i first heard about this film i wasn't so sure if i was going to like it or not but i was way too wrong and harsh with this film because i didn't know what to expect but it was really really good with some really great performances and a great story every heist they did it was brilliant the way they planned every time to hit each bank with different clothes it was awesome and they even went 2 times and robbed the same bank. It's funny, it's sad and action packed a really good heist movie i hope Thomas Jane could make more movies like this the only thing i didn't liked was the ending a little bit but still a very good movie with a good script and a good cast you totally need to see it if you haven't.

Being a South African and knowing somewhat about the family etc, the movie may have been correct about the aspects of the robberies but the political overtones they tried to make was utter rubbish.Stander was nothing more than a greedy bank robber. He DID NOT ROB the banks to give to the poor little blacks. He robbed the banks and for a considerable amount of time he wasted the money and lived in absolute wealth. He bought expensive cars, boats etc.The director of the movie really tried his best to drag apartheid and political issues into the story but his bad attempts are transparent. The whole story of him going to the father of ONE of the many blacks that he shot during his work at the SAP force was utter rubbish. Then right at the end of the movie, It says where the three robbers are now or what happened to them. THEN. NELSON MANDELA WAS RELEASE OUT OF PRISON. What the hell has that got to do with the whole movie. NOTHING.I hate it if people make use of any excuse to spout their own sick version of politics.

Andre Stander is a white south African detective living and working under Apartheid. He has a beautiful wife and a respected high ranking father. We first encounter Stander at a moment of happiness in his life, he is getting married. But this happiness is short lived as Stander and the police are brought in to a township to crush an uprising of protesting blacks. The riot scene is shot in realistic fashion- giving a real feel of violence about to erupt on both sides. The camera remains tight on Standers face as he shoots his shotgun in to the belly of a rushing protester and then emptying the weapon in to the crowd of unarmed black protesters, Thomas Jane does a great job of showing some complex emotions here- disgust and rage and even the thrill of adrenaline. We get an inkling of how Stander feels about what he has done when he beats up a boasting sub-ordinate cop for a callous remark after the massacre. Unable to come to terms with the regime he protects Stander has a kind of breakdown and on a whim robs a bank. He later returns- in a tense and funny scene as the investigating officer!. Stander robs bank after bank in a variety of disguises and seems unmotivated by the money he steals with such brazen confidence, indeed we come to realise the act of robbing is more an act of defiance for the government he now despises coupled with a kind of release. When Stander is finally caught by his own friends in the police is it relief we see on his face?. Stander is sentenced for a long time, and in a key scene in court he tells the judge that he has fired upon unarmed men- this is what he feels he should be on trial for we are led to believe. In jail Stander meets two fellow cons who also have robbed banks and together they escape. The trio name themselves the 'Stander gang' and become notorious outlaws thrilling and terrifying the public. The other criminals enjoy the easy money, however for Stander the adrenaline of his crimes is no longer enough to keep him distracted from his inner turmoil and he seeks out the father of the young man who he shot years ago in the riots. He is beaten with a club by the distraught man who doesn't kill Stander, instead turning away in disgust. The angry father however cannot beat out Standers inner demons who are pushing him toward a bloody self destruction. By now the police are closing in on the gangs hideout and a bloody shoot out occurs killing one member of the gang much to Standers horror. Stander flees the country for America. Safe in the states in a moving scene he contacts his father by phone under a false identity- as the cops are bugging the line and lets him know he respects and loves his father. America offers little peace of mind for Stander, though we are shown the difference in the cultures as blacks are on equal footing with whites here.In an anger and drink fuelled burst of emotions he runs a red light and is pulled over by two cops, refusing to follow their orders he fights one cop for his shotgun and is shot numerous times by the other officer. a violent end to a man who was full of self loathing and disgust at his crimes. Well what can i say about this movie..., Thomas Jane gives a blazing performance with a difficult role and complex character. Thank god this wasn't given the banal t.v movie treatment. Thomas Jane is an uneven actor sometimes amazing ( as in this film) and sometimes..well rubbish ( as in Deep Blue Sea). The rest of the cast are excellent and pull off the difficult job of portraying real people with skill. I would recommend this movie for anyone who likes excellent acting and intelligent scripting and stylish , thrilling direction.