King of Thieves (2018 film)

King of Thieves is a 2018 British crime film based on the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary of 2015. Directed by James Marsh, the film stars Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, Michael Gambon, Charlie Cox, Jim Broadbent, Paul Whitehouse and Ray Winstone.[4][5]

King of Thieves
British release poster
Directed byJames Marsh
Produced by
Written byJoe Penhall
Starring
Music byBenjamin Wallfisch
CinematographyDanny Cohen
Edited by
  • Jinx Godfrey
  • Nick Moore
Production
company
Distributed byStudioCanal
Release date
  • 14 September 2018 (2018-09-14)[1]
Running time
108 minutes[2]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$11.4 million[3]

Plot

A professional thief in his younger years, 77-year-old widower Brian Reader pulls together a band of ageing criminals to plot an unprecedented burglary at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit. The thieves, all but one in their 60s and 70s, employ their old-school skills to plan the heist over the Easter holiday weekend. Posing as gas repairmen, they enter the deposit building, deactivate the alarms, and proceed to drill a hole into the wall of the strongroom. Two days later, they manage to escape with allegedly over £14 million in stolen jewels and money. When the crime is discovered, the police investigation starts, followed by a frenzy of publicity and media speculation as to those responsible.

Cracks between the misfit gang members begin to show as they argue over how to share the goods, and they become increasingly distrustful of each other. Brian is excluded by the group and, not realising the true value of the haul, the gang makes several mistakes. These help the police to identify, track, and finally arrest the gang members, with only the younger Basil evading arrest and escaping the country. All the others are remanded in custody and await their trial with equanimity.[6]

Filming

The main bulk of the scenes were filmed in central London and around Margate, Kent, including scenes at the Wig and Pen Pub, the Nayland Rock Hotel, Harbour Arm in Margate, outside the Turner Contemporary, and a scene at Margate railway station. Abbott's Cliff in Dover can also be spotted in the train scene where Brian Reader (Michael Caine) travels to Margate.[7][8]

Cast

Soundtrack

A cover of "The Man" originally by The Killers was released by British jazz-pop singer Jamie Cullum as the lead single from the King of Thieves soundtrack.[9]

Benjamin Wallfisch composed the music for the film. The score was released by Milan Records.

Critical reception

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 35% based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 4.91/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "King of Thieves unites an incredible cast for a heist movie brimming with potential -- most of which, sadly, evaporates long before the end credits have started to roll."[10] Metacritic gives it a score of 47 out 100 based on 16 critical reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11] The Guardian gave the film two stars, saying "We get one or two cool touches. Broadbent is interestingly cast against type as a nasty piece of work, and I liked Winstone laughing with incredulous joy as he clambers into the Aladdin's cave of the strongroom. But what a mess this is: not funny enough to be a comedy, not exciting enough to be a thriller, not interesting or convincing enough to have any documentary value."[12]

See also

References
  1. "KING OF THIEVES - Full Trailer". Filmoria.co.uk. 30 August 2018. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  2. "King of Thieves (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  3. "King of Thieves (2019) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. "Hatton Garden Heist Film King Of Thieves Gets First Trailer". Empire. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  5. Sheldon, Jess (8 August 2018). "Michael Caine health update: Star, 85, returns in heist film King of Thieves - WATCH video". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  6. "The King of Thieves Press Notes: Studio Canal". studiocanalpress.co.uk. 24 August 2018.
  7. Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office King of Thieves Article". Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  8. "Final Hatton Garden raider convicted". 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  9. "Jamie Cullum's 'The Man' Cover from 'King of Thieves' to Be Released". Film Music Reporter. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  10. "King of Thieves (2019)". Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  11. "King of Thieves". Retrieved 12 May 2020 – via www.metacritic.com.
  12. Bradshaw, Peter (12 September 2018). "King of Thieves review – Hatton Garden crew commit daylight robbery". Retrieved 12 May 2020 – via www.theguardian.com.
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