Matthew McNaughton Heist movies can be good (see: "The Italian Job") and bad (see: too many to list), but they can also be neither. This one is right about in the middle. With a lot of filler, boring dialogue and cringe-worthy hinge-popping, it's just a bore. The five minutes dedicated to "action" at the end weren't nearly enough to justify watching. But the exposition into Jimmy's artwork and school attendance was great. I don't understand why they couldn't have delved into that more. Maybe when the bad guys go to the house to pick up Jimmy he's actually at school and so they have to come up with another plan. Why didn't Ty just leave in the cop's car? Oh well, at least I was able to write enough sentences for it.

winstontanious I don't normally post reviews, but after reading such negative reviews, I had to advocate for this film. I just got done watching it, and have to say it was different than what I was expecting--but in a good way. I found myself being initially furious with Hackett and interested on how it would play out. It was definitely suspenseful and had a lot of interesting twists that I was not expecting. It definitely is an unconventional heist film, but I definitely found myself concerned and rooting for the protagonist, Ty, as he tries to do the right thing. I would probably agree with those who did not like Ty, accusing him of being a traitor, had it not been for the fact that he did not become a traitor until AFTER Baines kills the hobo. It wasn't until HE violated the plan that Hackett was up to that point following, that Hackett wants out. The movie accurately conveyed that. It in the end was a great movie. I do, though, agree that there could have been better character development.

ajs-10 I remember this one being mentioned in dispatches when it came out, but that's about all I remember about it. Now, having seen it I find there's not a lot to add to that. It's a pretty forgettable run of the mill heist thriller with a surprisingly good cast considering how average it is. But more of my thoughts later, here's a brief summary first (summary haters please look after that big pile of cash while I write the next paragraph).Ty Hackett has recently graduated to be a security guard working for Eagle Security. They transport money in armoured trucks around the city. He is a decorated soldier having served in Iraq and has to look after his teenage brother, Jimmy, after both of their parents died. A group of his colleagues, led by Mike Cochrane, are planning to fake a heist and steal $42 million from two of their trucks. At first Ty is against the idea, but after a visit from Social Services about his brother, he changes his mind, on the condition that nobody is hurt. As they are hiding the money a homeless man is spotted spying on them and he is shot. This leaves Ty in a dilemma, should he just turn a blind eye, or should he stand by his principals? Well I guess that's enough to whet your appetite for now.I'll start with what I did like… well the music wasn't too bad and the cinematography was pretty good, and that's just about it. As I said, there is a pretty good cast which includes; Matt Dillon as Mike Cochrane, Jean Reno as Quinn, Laurence Fishburne as the trigger-happy Baines, Amaury Nolasco as Palmer, Fred Ward as the boss, Duncan Ashcroft, Milo Ventimiglia as Eckhart, Skeet Ulrich as the cop, Dodds and Columbus Short as Ty Hackett. None of which were really stretched in this pretty average caper.So in conclusion, it's a rather dull and slightly predictable heist movie with the twist being it's the guards committing the crime. There's very little here we haven't seen many times before. And so a very average film gets a very average score from me… Not recommended.My score: 4.9/10

callanvass (Credit IMDb) The war veteran, Ty Hackett, is hired to work as security guard by the Eagle Shield Security where his old friend Mike Cochroone works. Ty is having financial difficulties after the death of his father, and is raising his brother Jimmy alone. He teams up with Mike's brother-in-law, Baines, and their coworkers Quinn, Palmer and Dobbs. One night, Mike invites Ty to join in the robbery of two armored trucks transporting forty-two million dollars. The reluctant Ty accepts after Mike promises that nobody would be hurt in the heist.Armored is basically a modern b-movie, just with a more expensive budget, and experienced, quality actors. It doesn't really pretend to be anything more, anything less, and that works for it, more often then not, than it does against it. I'm not the biggest fan of heist movies, the subject of robbing really doesn't intrigue me like most others do, but this is better then most. I liked the conflict between Matt Dillon, and Columbus Short's characters, it provided an interesting point of view for things, and added good things to the storyline too. Complaints? The whole "You witnessed an accidental murderer, so will have to kill him to evade future evidence, and keep an eye on you, so you don't snitch "thing in the middle is very clichéd, and not very original, I also wished they had gone further with Short and his younger brother Jimmy (Andre Kinney) Because that was a good storyline too. Decent amount of action for what it is, and it passed the time amiably enough.Performances. Matt Dillon is better then this film, but he gives his all in this movie, and it shows. He can play intense with the best of them, and I loved it when he went all maniacal. Columbus Short is actually pretty solid as the lead. I didn't think I'd buy him as much as I did, but he pulled it off. He has a lot of potential in his career. Laurence Fishburne slums it here, and doesn't have that big of a role as you may think. Fred Ward is wasted in his role. Milo Ventimiglia plays a cop briefly, then a shot-wound victim, not much of a part to play. He did as best as he could. Skeet Ulrich is OK and nothing more.Bottom line. Armored was much better then I expected, considering I dislike heist movies. It's a well-polished B-movie, and a fairly entertaining one at that. It's not something I'll ever see again, or ever rush out to see. But it was a decent time-waster, and it's perfect afternoon fodder when you have no activities to do. Worth a look 6/10