The Hurricane Heist (2018)

Directed by: Rob Cohen | 100 minutes | action, crime | Actors: Toby Kebbell, Maggie Grace, Ryan Kwanten, Ralph Ineson, Melissa Bolona, ​​Ben Cross, Jamie Andrew Cutler, Christian Contreras, Jimmy Walker, Ed Birch, Moyo Akandé, James Barriscale, Erik Rondell, Mark Basnight, Keith D. Evans, Mark Rhino Smith, Brooke Johnston

Director Rob Cohen scored huge hits at the beginning of this century with ‘The Fast and the Furious’ and ‘xXx’. Action movies with Vin Diesel in them. The popularity of that bald actor has declined in recent years and in 2018 Diesel is only profitable as a tree with a limited repertoire (Great from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’) or in sequels of the ‘Fast and the Furious’ franchise. Cohen lost his mojo after canning ‘xXx’ when he canned the expensive flop ‘Stealth’ in 2005.

In 2015 he scored a bit of attention with the erotic thriller ‘The Boy Next Door’ in which the usually good J-Lo undressed. A clever marketing campaign caught the eye, but the lackluster end result meant that this film also failed to become Cohen’s hoped-for comeback. But with ‘The Hurricane Heist’ the director hopes to tackle his return in a big way. How does he do that? With a genre cocktail! ‘The Hurricane Heist’ is a heist film and a disaster film in one! A heist carried out during a hurricane: two genres for the price of one! Bring on those millions! However?

The answer to the above question is ‘no’. ‘The Hurricane Heist’ was a big flop. In our country, the film did not last long. Not because the quality is so bad – Cohen is too great a craftsman for that – but because this production is so anonymous again. Cohen is not a cinematographer, but a bread filmmaker. His films have no signature or signature, but simply exist. This film is also very flat and formulaic. There is no surprise to be found in this production. Well, except for the casting. To cast the rather unknown Toby Kebbel in the lead role is a brave choice. This Brit is a great actor, but he lacks star power and his name won’t send crowds of moviegoers to the screens.

‘The Hurricane Heist’ is a rather tame affair. The stunts are decent, the acting is decent and the soundtrack is okay. This film has no distinctive qualities and can even be called boring at times. The dialogues aren’t special and the action isn’t great either. Nice for a drizzly Sunday afternoon, but nothing more than that. Too bad, because there would have been a lot more residents here.