Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 27 Ratings

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 33
  2. Negative: 2 out of 33
  1. 90
    Mamet -- crafts tangy, well-seasoned dialogue that a good cast can feast on. And this cast is prime.
  2. Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    80
    With an actor as great as Gene Hackman in the lead, a lot of scenes even breathe.
  3. 60
    Solidly entertaining and surprisingly free of the Mamet-isms that can suck the life right out of the most tightly crafted story.
  4. 30
    There's something offensive about how Mamet continues to win praise as a serious filmmaker with such a joyless picture, a picture that -- intentionally -- gives the audience so little.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 18
  2. Negative: 9 out of 18
  1. TeeK
    10
    Best heist movie I have seen, though the pleasure is hidden in the details and the many twists and turns the plot takes. Heist rewards really only those viewers who pay attention, as if Mamet made a nice movie for the casual watcher and an excellent one for the detail-obsessed. Point in case (attention -here comes a spoiler): when the gold bars get molten into boat railings, the railings are solid, not hollow. At the end, when Hackman lets his wife and her lover steal the gold from him, they entices them to take the wrong ones - hollow tubes. This detail is typical for the whole movie. Overlooking such finesse lets a viewer underestimate and underrate Heist grossly. Expand

See all 18 User Reviews

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