“How to Rob a Bank” might be the most morally irresponsible mainstream movie in a generation.
Sure, “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” (2022) extolled eco-terrorism, but few people actually saw it. And while “One Battle After Another” glorified violent radicals, it didn’t recruit Joe and Jane Sixpack into the fray.
“Bank” does just that. And more.
Naturally, any film with such an immoral center must lecture, not entertain. To director David Leitch’s modest credit, it’s the most engaging TED talk possible, the very faintest of praise. Still, when you’re pounding your fist on the lectern, basic storytelling mores get tossed out.
That’s exactly what happens in this bloated but slick propaganda piece.
A bleach-blond Nicholas Hoult plays Ryan, head of a social media savvy gang of, you guessed it, bank robbers. He hides beneath a wolf mask, asking if his followers are “hungry” for revolution.
Against what? Big banks for crippling the little guy, for starters. Big Medical, which squeezes citizens for every penny. Wait, didn’t ObamaCare fix that? But we digress.
We’re told bank robbers have a nine in 10 chance of getting away with it, and Ryan and his team will teach you how.
Literally.
The Pittsburgh-set “How to Rob a Bank” offers advice on the best ways to knock over banks, how to stall police investigations and more. This isn’t storytelling; it’s a cinematic spin on a bomb-making kit.
Our “heroes” put on a good show, but they pack a sober message. Society is broken. Grab what you can. Ryan’s team does just that, posts the heavily edited results on social media and, we’re repeatedly told, give back to the less fortunate.
Awwwww.
And if they have to spray the streets with bullets along the way, so be it!
FBI Special Agent John West (John C. Reilly) takes their thieving personally. He’s kind and dedicated, but the screenplay by Mark Bianculli doesn’t allow him, or any other character, a chance to defend Western civilization.
When pressed, West comes up with a tepid, both-sides anecdote which makes him look pathetic.
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Agent West could use a hand, since beefing up security at most Pittsburgh-area banks is apparently not an option (the Pittsburgh setting is as cobalt blue as most municipalities, to be fair).
So he lets a hacker under house arrest (that’s Zoë Kravitz as Reagan – get it? Reagan!!) off the hook if she’ll use her tech savvy to bring down those wolves.
Kravitz looks alternately bored and wild eyed, and given the depth of her one-note character, she’s more than forgiven. She loves to snack and has a pet guinea pig – end of character development.
Can these rag-tag bank robbers stay one step ahead of Johnny Law? Will Ryan and co. inspire a new generation of acolytes who never, ever misuse their power and break all but one pane of glass from start to finish?
There’s nothing wrong with depicting characters who get railroaded by the system, eager to strike back. Or, they’ve hit hard times and loathe how the Haves have so much more than the Have-Nots.
That’s fertile storytelling ground, no matter one’s ideology.
Making these “wolves” so pure of heart without hinting at the consequences of their actions (or advice) is different. So is sprinkling far-Left talking points throughout the film without challenging them or glossing over what they represent.
That’s shoddy storytelling. Put the message before the story and you lose nine times out of 10, to paraphrase those bank heist odds.
A crew of bank robbers pull off a heist during the “How to Rob a Bank” premiere in New York. https://t.co/xCliyYGjuH
— Variety (@Variety) November 11, 2026
The toxic screenplay couldn’t spare a syllable about corrupt politicians, rampant government fraud or other real-world issues that impact the themes in play. So, what’s the better system? Socialism? Ben Shapiro just made a movie about that, and it doesn’t end well.
No, this is Eat the Rich: The Movie, performed by millionaire actors. As Jimmy Failla always says, we’re living in the death of shame.
The movie desperately avoids scapegoating the police, but Reagan’s dialogue (and her BLM sticker) scream otherwise. They’re just dupes like us, caught in a broken system, or so we’re instructed.
How condescending.
“Bank” goes on way too long, switching from a giddy action comedy to a serious, life-or-death struggle mid-film. The transition is jarring and unnecessary.
Maybe don’t lionize bank robbers from the jump? Problem solved.
In between, the filmmakers teach audiences how to thwart police investigations. It’s one of many lectures in the story, including a fourth-wall break near the end that doubles as a warning.
Do as we say, or there will be blood. Literally. Sound familiar?
Do you get the morally irresponsible angle yet?
Leitch (“Bullet Train,” “The Fall Guy”) is at his best choreographing slick action beats, and some of the chases here connect as intended. The story still leaves massive plot holes that become increasingly hard to swallow.
And, like too many modern movies, it doesn’t know when to end. That two-hour running time feels a good 15 minutes longer.
We haven’t gotten to the most chilling element of the film. Christian Slater gets a small but pivotal role as a bank executive, the personification of greed and corruption.
Shocking, right? Who saw that coming?
Cue the Luigi Mangione parallels, all ladled out with zero moral hand-wringing.
Storytellers can make whatever films they wish. No one should stop them, and the marketplace will have the final say.
Still, you’d think a filmmaking team would think long and hard about extolling violence as cheekily as “How to Rob a Bank” does.
That’s a creative choice, one with a morally repellent underbelly.
HiT or Miss: 1 out of 5 stars
Genre: Satire/action/comedy
Runtime: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Where to Watch: In Theaters Nov. 13
Family Friendly? R (Sexual situations, adult language, gore, blood and mature themes)