Review: Vault (2019)

Directed by: Tom DeNucci | 99 minutes | action, crime | Actors: Don Johnson, Chazz Palminteri, Theo Rossi, Clive Standen, Samira Wiley, William Forsythe, Sean Ringgold, Chuck Zito, Vincent Pastore, Eric Lutes, Burt Young, Antonio Cupo. Dorothy Lyman, John Fiore, Ken Baltin, Gillian Williams, Armen Garo

Mafia movies will never go out of style and the same goes for productions that are “based on true facts”. Director Tom DeNucci – a very mafioso-esque name, but all that aside – thought he had the winning combination in his hands by filming a real crime drama. This attempt resulted in “Vault”, a film that did not make the silver screen and for which an anonymous existence in the digital video library is threatened. Right or not?

A special piece of American history is highlighted in “Vault”. This is one of the largest robberies in the history of the United States. Two petty thieves decide to crack a safe. This money store houses an amount of thirty million dollars. What the duo don’t realize, however, is that this sum of money belongs to the local Rhode Island mafia. Still not the type of people you want to have trouble with …

DeNucci has tried to make an exciting film about a special history. It is certainly interesting to find out about this now-forgotten headline, but unfortunately the director had a rather poor budget and that breaks up this production. Without a lot of money you will have to be creative and that is precisely what it is lacking. “Vault” is a straightforward mafia movie without many surprises. Paranoia and the constant threat of violence should be a source of tension, but the cast doesn’t know what to do with the script.

The acting is very flat, so that attention quickly diminishes. It also does not help that the soundtrack is not very worth mentioning and the tension is quite flexible. The first half of the film is well put together and tries to evoke a certain subcutaneous feeling of unease, but the second half cancels that out. It seems like DeNucci was in a hurry and decided to crank up the pace, making “Vault” seem a bit run-down. More could have been done here if more attention had been paid to the script and the casting.