Tower Heist

The filmmakers were obviously trying to follow in the footsteps of “Ocean’s Eleven” and its sequels. Despite this, the filmmakers were able to create some originality by relating “Tower Heist” more to the Madoff investment scandal that took place during the writing process of this movie. The cast did okay and I like how the film shows an actual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The movie however is not as fun as other films of the same genre.

The one thing that this film has going for it is that instead of professional thieves like in “Ocean’s” Trilogy, “Tower Heist” features common men who decide to rob one of the richest men in New York. It is a kind of fun that is separate from the Steven Soderbergh films. I like the emotional journey that Josh undergoes. He starts out on Shaw’s side but slowly starts to suspect that Shaw is guilty. After Lester’s attempted suicide and Shaw’s artificial response towards the event, Josh is now desirous for revenge in order to help his fellow employees. As mentioned, a big way that this movie is separate from “Ocean’s Eleven” is that this is the first crime our main characters have ever committed. This allows for some nice comedy. Another good quality of “Tower Heist” is that you care for the main characters and the other employees of The Tower. This was vital so that we will root for their success the whole movie. I also enjoy the car’s changing role in the movie. At first, we think that its only purpose is to provide something valuable for Josh to destroy out of anger. It suddenly becomes the target of the robbery. Another admirable characteristic of this movie is that while watching it, it seems hopeless for the robbery to succeed. This cinematic quality is vital in this genre. I missed the plot point of how the team got Shaw’s hearing moved to Thanksgiving Day and that caused me to be confused. The cast members did pretty well in this comedy. Ben Stiller created an honorable character that you cheer for while Oscar-nominated actor Eddie Murphy creates a character that differs from others he has played in the past. Casey Affleck (an Oscar-nominated actor himself) is the biggest reference to the “Ocean’s” Trilogy that “Tower Heist” makes. By the way, I didn’t know he was the brother of Ben Affleck. I wish however that the character of Charlie did not separate from the group. That kind of ruined the fun of the whole show. It was fun to also see Matthew Broderick and Michael Pena in this movie.

This film relates to the “Ocean’s” Trilogy but it doesn’t deny that fact due to Affleck’s presence. Also Ted Griffin, who co-wrote this film, also wrote “Ocean’s Eleven”. Another reason why I enjoyed this movie was the other screenwriter, Jeff Nathanson. He has written other movies that I like. While “Tower Heist” lacked true fun, it does entertain.

3.5 Stars