“Empire State” (** OUT OF ****) qualifies as an interesting
but mediocre armored car company heist epic.
Ostensibly, “Fighting” director Dito Montiel and “Breach” scenarist Adam
Mazer failed to take advantage of a fantastic opportunity to make a first class
caper film. The real-life incident itself
constituted something of a landmark in crime annuals. According to the Associated Press, the
$11-million robbery of the Sentry Armored Car amounted to “the largest cash
robbery in U.S. history.” Furthermore,
the AP pointed out this robbery surpassed the December 1978 robbery of $5.8
million in cash and jewelry taken by thieves from the Lufthansa cargo area at Kennedy
International Airport. Martin Scorsese immortalized
the Lufthansa heist in his crime magnum opus “Goodfellas” with Robert De Niro
and Ray Liotta. Meantime, Montiel
assembled an enviable cast including Liam Hemsworth, Michael Angarano, Dwayne
Johnson, Emma Roberts, Paul Ben-Victor, Michael Rispoli, and Roger Guenveur
Smith. “Empire State” generates
sufficient atmosphere, but the plot is curiously lackluster. Montiel and Mazer neither made a
semi-historical crime reconstruction (the loot hasn’t been recovered) or a
fictional counterpoint to it exploiting history as a jumping off point.
Contemporary crime thrillers often implicate audiences
because we are rooting for the charismatic perpetrators. Initially, the protagonist, Chris Potamitis
(Liam Hemsworth of “The Hunger Games”), wins our sympathy for three
reasons. First, he cannot land a job
with the NYPD owing to a penny-ante marijuana arrest at a rock concert years
ago. Second, his Greek-born father,
Tommy (Paul Ben-Victor of “True Romance”), loses his blue-collar job as a
janitor after a quarrel in the toilet of a local bar with the owner. Third, Chris is outraged by the cavalier
treatment of a fellow employee at an armored car company days after he is hired
as a guard. No sooner has our hero gotten
a job with the Empire Armored Car Company than he watches in horror as his friendly
mentor, Tony (Michael Rispoli of “Pain & Gain”), dies during a botched
robbery attempt. Tony’s assailant shoots
the family man several times in the stomach during a struggle. Earlier, Tony ridiculed his employer’s
slipshod security measures. He showed
Chris how easy it would be to steal from the company vault. Tony explains that the owners never count the
money after they have stashed on pallets in their vault with a harmless German Sheppard
prowling the premises. Furthermore, he
reveals that the owners have been known to skim the money entrusted to them. Chris is astonished at the sight of $25
million in money bags scattered haphazardly in the vault. Later, after Tony dies, the company welshes on
its promise to pay $50-thousand his widow.
Instead, as Chris learns afterward, they have paid her a measly
$5-thousand. Like a modern-day Robin
Hood, Chris steals enough loot from the company to pay off the widow.
At this point, Chris makes several mistakes. First, he
flaunts his haul to an arrogant, conceited childhood pal, Eddie (Michael
Angarano of “Almost Famous”), who has an unfortunate habit of shooting off his
mouth.. Eddie gives new meaning to “loose
lips sinking ships.” Chris and Eddie
blow the rest of the loot that our hero stole on booze and babes. Loquacious Eddie babbles to a couple of low-level
street hooligans from the neighborhood.
The temptation of easy money is too much for them to pass up. Second, Chris loses our sympathy when he
agrees to rob the company. He is giving
into his own greed with no other reason that avarice itself. Ironically, the thugs in a van who tried to
rob Empire earlier now attempt to break into the Empire facility one evening. This unexpected turn of events takes Chris by
surprise. Eddie and his hooligan friends
were planning to knock off the place at the same time. Previously, when these thugs killed Tony and
shot up Chris’s bullet-proof vest, the NYPD dispatched Detective Ransome (Dwayne
Johnson of “Pain & Gain”) to investigate.
Ransome and his partner show up again when the thugs hit Empire and a
small gunfight ensues with Chris entering the fray at the last minute. He manages to kill one of the thugs as the
latter was about to ice Ransome. Chris
basks in brief fame in the local press, but Eddie goads him to take advantage
of the Empire’s slack security.
The robbery that follows shows Chris in an unsavory
light. Eddie smashes his way through the
ceiling and Chris coaches him about how to wear his apparel so that a security
camera will not record his face.
Eventually, Eddie has to smash his gun over Chris’s head to make it look
like Chris was the victim rather than the mastermind of the robbery. Naturally, Ransome is back on the case and
keeping tabs on our hero. Eddie and his
mobster pal get into trouble and the FBI enter the case. It is only a matter of time before Eddie goes
so berserk that Chris’s father Tommy intervenes and the NYPD arrest everybody,
but the money is never found. “Empire
State” implies that the loot is hidden in a statue that Chris gave his
mother. Nevertheless, nobody ever reaps
the rewards of the robbery. Ironically, Chris
Potamitis served as a co-producer on “Empire State.” He served a brief sentence for his
involvement in the crime.
Clocking in at 94 minutes, “Empire State” generates neither
enough urgency nor sufficient suspense.
The hero degenerates from a Robin Hood to a hopeless moron. Dwayne Johnson shows up 22 minutes into the
action then checks out and returns another twenty minutes or so later but lurks
for the most part on the periphery. Emma
Roberts plays a restaurant waitress and appears to be Chris’ quasi-love interest,
but the sparks never fly between them.
The shoot-out at Empire Armored is noisy but never thrilling. The worst thing about “Empire State” is that
Montiel had everything necessary to make a classic heist caper. Mazer’s screenplay wavers between a Robin
Hood crime thriller where the underdogs triumph over a corrupt business to a
comedy of errors where idiots allow their own stupidity and greed undermine
them. “Empire State” boasts polished
production values, a solid cast, and historic precedent, but it shoots itself
in the foot with its sloppy approach to its subject matter. This is a deplorably missed opportunity for
everybody connected with this movie.
