Movie Review: Going in Style (2017)

Movie Review: Going in Style (2017)

Ocean's 11 meets AARP in the newest heist movie, featuring three old-timers who you most likely have heard a bit about: Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin. I didn't know this before seeing it, but it's apparently based on a 1979 movie of the same name; IMDb's synopsis of that film is "Three friends who are living on the dole decide to organize a bank robbery," which is accurate for this version as well.

Willie (Freeman), Joe (Caine), and Albert (Arkin) aren't rich, but they get by on their pensions from the steel mill where they worked. Willie is sick and goes in for infusions, but Joe and Albert don't know that - he's been keeping it a secret. Joe, however, is about to lose his house, because the interest rates on his mortgage just went way up, and when he goes to the bank to talk to them about it, he finds himself in the middle of a bank robbery. Buoyed by how easy the robbery was, and disgruntled at the recent loss of their pensions, he suggests to his friends that they too could rob a bank - and to make it personal, they could rob their own bank, which didn't want to cut Joe a break on his inflated mortgage payment.

This is your typical "popcorn" heist movie, but most of it was pretty funny, and the supporting cast was good as well. Joey King (Independence Day: Resurgence) plays Joe's granddaughter - her and her mom live with him, which is another reason he can't lose the house. Matt Dillon is cast here as a police officer, and Kenan Thompson has a small but great role as security for a local grocery store. John Ortiz, Christopher Lloyd, Ann-Margret (Grumpy Old Men), and Peter Serafinowicz also have supporting roles.

Yes, see this movie. My parents saw it the week before I did, and recommended it for the "older crowd," but I'm a bit younger than them and enjoyed it - I figured I would, as well, because of the cast, and because usually I'm a fan of heist movies. There are good messages of friendship and family throughout the film, too, and I recommend this movie for most ages - there's a little bit of language (hence the PG-13 rating) and some sexual content, but nothing too over-the-top.

Going in Style is in theaters today, April 7th, and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 96 minutes. 3.5 stars out of 5.

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