When one watches "Armored", bare in mind that a very good lesson can be learn which is if you plan join a group of people who plans to mastermind the biggest robbery heist of all time, its either you make sure you are totally in it or you are totally out of it because if you think are in between and when something goes terribly wrong, then you get a story like "Armored" which comes to your way once a while.
Armored tells the story of a group of security guards under the company Eagle Shield, led by Mike (Matt Dillon) together with team mates Baines (Laurence Fishburne) and Quinn (Jean Reno), who dispatch money. They are hired by the bank to transfer a federal reserve worth US $42 million. This opportunity leads them to plan a heist, together with reluctant new member Tyler (Columbus Short), an ex-Iraq war veteran with financial issues. Things start to go horribly wrong as Tyler feared when a homeless bystander gets killed and a cop smells something fishy.
One would not be surprised to see Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne and Jean Leno being obvious picks for these roles. With a well-known cast, one would expect something great but the movie does not shine through its stars. The supporting cast does an okay job but it's nothing to shout about. Still it's not a decent watch when you follow Matt Dillon as the torn-between-money-and-friends character.
The storyline will remind you a little of "Swordfish" (2001) where the heist is concerned and a little of "Inside Man" (2006) but the ending is rushed. We get some message about the value of human life and also about money not being everything there is in life. Director Nimrod Antal perhaps wanted to get the story done with as quickly as he can. The movie will come with a twist but it's still a happy ending.
Overall, "Armored" can be an entertaining watch in patches but you'll have to switch your brain off every now and then.
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