Reno Rangan I like heist movies, once they were making great ones, but not anymore. I have heard about this, though haven't seen it till now. Seems it's a decent film, but came at the wrong time of the history. You know, the same film 15-20 years ago would have made a better impact among people, as well as commercially. Nowadays, the youngsters want only superhero action-sci-fi films. That should not be the reason for a film's failure. Instead, they should have improved it in lots of areas. But still I liked a few things from it, like the information about mixing the real art with the fake ones, but still it remains as the real.The film is about two half-brothers. They are the art thieves and they have done many jobs together, but in their final one, one of them betrays. So the rest of the narration sets in a few years later when they join hands for another big art heist sidelining their differences. They form a big team and this time they are watchful over each other. Now comes the final act where the actual event takes place and with a twist the story comes to an end.An enjoyable film, little funny and had some good moments, But overall film was predictable, including the twist. Could be the director's best film so far. Kurt Russell was just okay, but expected a lot. The rest of the cast in this multi-starrer, does not look good, though contributed. Maybe the film characters were weaker than the story. They should have focused more on them to progress it, so it would have achieved the success they were looking for than what a few people praising it. I think it's okay for a watch with the low expectation.6/10

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Scam artiste Crunch Calhoun (Kurt Russell) pulled off a job in Poland, that saw him turned in by his own brother Nicky (Matt Dillon) for a reduced sentence. A few years later, after a motorcycle stunt went wrong, he finds himself holed up in casts, until he's asked to retrieve the real copy of a stolen book, reuniting his old crew and setting out on a mission that is not all that it seems and everything can change in the blink of an eye.Kurt Russell seems to have disappeared in to the background in recent years, flitting as he always did between hit and miss, and now he pops up in this technically impressive, but overly flawed thriller, that actually declines in quality the more it goes on.The things that make it interesting to start with are the things that come to be it's downfall, with the slick, stylish opening, and the plot that requires your attention becoming respectively over whelming and just convoluted and overly complex. But it maintains a sense of substance and sophistication that never stops commanding your attention throughout, and while it's not the sum of it parts, it doesn't fail to cover the cracks. **

badfeelinganger Given a limited release by its studio, it's worth seeking out if you're tired of movies with nothing but superheroes and overused special effects.After a far-too-long six-year absence from the silver screen, Kurt Russell stars in the amusing, enjoyable heist movie The Art of the Steal, and he's its biggest asset. Russell began his career in some engaging Walt Disney productions, then proved his considerable acting ability as none other than The King in the 1979 TV-movie Elvis, then a year later delivered a sensational performance as the quintessentially dishonest, politically ambitious salesman in Robert Zemeckis's extraordinary comedy Used Cars. From there he etched memorable hero portraits as the futuristic criminal in Escape from New York and helicopter pilot in The Thing, both of which were directed by John Carpenter (who also helmed Elvis). He was affecting as the blue-collar boyfriends of Meryl Streep in Silkwood and Goldie Hawn in Swing Shift, convincingly played a Miami crime reporter in The Mean Season, and in 1986 he gave what still stands as his finest work as the washed-up ex-high-school-football jock in The Best of Times. He re-teamed with Hawn in the fine romantic comedy Overboard and was suavely duplicitous as Michelle Pfeiffer's policeman love interest in Tequila Sunrise. He even managed to rise above the dismal proceedings in Carpenter's obnoxious Big Trouble in Little China and Ted Kotcheff's opaque Winter People. In the next decade he had his share of hits (Tombstone and Executive Decision) and misses (Unlawful Entry and Breakdown), and never once could one accuse Russell of laying down on the job. So why not a box-office draw, someone who could consistently "open" a picture? (Sadly, his biggest box-office success was the atrocious Ron Howard-directed Backdraft.) Probably because, like Jeff Bridges, you never catch him "acting"; he approaches his craft with the utmost dedication, thinking in terms of his contribution to the movie overall rather than taking advantage of opportunities to distractingly steal scenes. American audiences are more receptive to actors who pander down to them, which is why mediocre performers like Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey have achieved the success they have; in Russell's case, he's simply had the misfortune of sticking to his scruples and respecting his craft -- he refuses to pollute his characters with trumped-up artificiality. In Dark Blue he delivered a galvanizing turn as a corrupt Los Angeles cop that was far more forceful than Denzel Washington's odious Training Day shenanigans, and in Quinten Tarantino's Grindhouse segment Death Proof, as Mike the Stuntman, he was, as he always has been, the very epitome of "cool." In Art of the Steal, Russell is simply marvelous, and what a pleasure it is to see him headlining a modestly budgeted picture and showing he can still effortlessly hold our attention throughout.

Lens Wilke A real gem! This film deserves much higher reviews!The way the film was edited and shot with flashbacks and flash forwards intersecting the current storyline makes The Art of the Steal very engaging. Too many films nowadays throw together big names, action and crude humour without any substance. Art of the Steal managed to do a solid job focusing on the story while feeding the audience bits of information that will come together at the end.The Art of the Steal is a mix of Ocean's Eleven series with Gambit and Incognito (1997). Highly highly recommended