Director / Zach Braff (WISH I WAS HERE, GARDEN STATE)
Stars/ Morgan Freeman, Sir Michael Caine and Alan Arkin

246 years make up the total age of the three wonderful lead actors headlining GOING IN STYLE, a remake of the 1979 movie by the same name which starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg.

This crime comedy, directed by Zach Braff (star of TV Series Scrubs), begins as Joe (Caine) is condescendingly advised that he could face losing his home, which his daughter and granddaughter also reside in, if he isn’t able to get back on top of his mortgage payments. Joe, Willie (Freeman) and Albert (Arkin) are then made redundant by the company that they work for. When they are told that their pensions are being cancelled, the trio of lifelong friends hit rock bottom and hatch a plan to rob the bank that is taking everything away from them.

The robbery of a bank is not the only crime committed in GOING IN STYLE. After a bright opening, audiences are robbed of the hearty laughter this film’s premise and its trio of stars look set to deliver.

This marks the sixth occasion that Sir Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman have worked in the same film. It won’t be remembered as one of their better pairings. Due to no fault of the three leading actors, GOING IN STYLE is quite content to settle for the mediocre groove it gets going. The original story penned by Edward Cannon has been re-written by HIDDEN FIGURES writer & director Theodore Melfi, who hasn’t been able to extract the lead characters’ bitterness and transition that into a clever crime caper filled with wit and endearing humour. Instead, Melfi’s script quite simplistically gives each character backstory they probably don’t need as much of and devises a couple of scenarios that are too immature for its target audience to appreciate. One of these features 1960s sex symbol Ann-Margret. GOING IN STYLE does marginally improve once it gathers some momentum towards its climax yet remains as routine as a pensioner on pay day.

2 ½ stars 

Viewer Discretion/ M (coarse language. Also contains drug content and some suggestive material.)

Trailer / GOING IN STYLE

Moviedoc thanks Village Roadshow and Village Cinemas, Jam Factory Gold Class for the invite to this film screening.

Review by Moviedoc / “LIKE” on Facebook – Moviedoc

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