King of Thieves a wheezy codger caper based on true story of biggest robbery in UK history

King of Thieves rounds up Michael Caine and a whole lot of old stagers for a wheezy codger caper based on the true story of the biggest burglary in UK history, writes Leigh Paatsch.

KING OF THIEVES (M)

Rating: Two and a half stars (2.5 out of 5)

Director: James Marsh (The Mercy)

Starring: Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone, Michael Gambon, Tom Courtenay, Charlie Cox.

Rusty treatment for men of steal

GRETA A TALE OF CREEPY OBSESSION

STRAIGHT TO DOG LOVERS’ HEARTS

FLYING THE NEST A CARTOON STRICTLY FOR THE BIRDS

There is a great movie begging to made about what is popularly known in England as the Hatton Garden Heist.

Unfortunately, King of Thieves never once comes close to great.

Ray Winstone and Michael Caine in a scene from the film King Of Thieves.

It is good enough on an entertaining level. Particularly if you drop your guard, tamp down your curiosity, and let an accomplished ensemble of experienced hands charm the socks off you.

However, a never-to-be-repeated entry in the annals of true crime such as the Hatton Garden Heist deserved a deeper dig than the shallow shovelling it often gets here.

Over the Easter weekend in April 2015, four elderly career crooks entered the underground stronghold of a London safe-deposit facility and pulled off what is believed to be the biggest burglary in UK history (total proceeds have never been disclosed, but estimates run anywhere from 50 to 400 million dollars).

Charlie Cox and Michael Caine. Picture: StudioCanal Films

How this knock-kneed quartet and an equally esoteric entourage of hired help got inside and (for a good while there) got away with it is a ripping yarn: chock-full of colourful characters, cunning planning and stunning stupidity on multiple fronts.

While key details of the case still get the right kind of going-over in King of Thieves, the potential impact is diminished by the decision to frame the movie as a breezy, wheezy showcase for its cast of seasoned actors.

Veterans such as Michael Caine (the brains of the outfit), Jim Broadbent (miscast as a bit of psycho), Tom Courtenay (doddering away for light relief) and Ray Winstone (the muscle of the outfit) are all clearly having fun.

King Of Thieves is good enough on an entertaining level, writes Leigh Paatsch. Picture: StudioCanal Films

However, it is at the expense of any sizzling insight into one of the hottest crimes of recent times.

Caine plays Brian Reader, the craftiest of this semi-retired cohort of crooked codgers in that he still knows a good job when he sees it.

It is Brian who snaffles the tip-off that Hatton Garden might be a happy hunting ground over the holiday period.

A dream-team of persnickety, pension-aged crims is swiftly assembled, and the smash-and-grab (not exactly the most exciting robbery sequence ever filmed) goes like clockwork.

Michael Caine is the only actor that can walk away with his head held high in King Of Thieves. StudioCanal Films

However, by the time the spoils must be divided — a process complicated by the need to fence some high-priced jewels outside British borders — Brian has been pushed out of the picture in a not-so-well-planned coup.

There is definitely plenty of low-blow one-liners on offer for everyone in a featured role in King of Thieves. Nevertheless, it is only Caine (85 years old and still going strong) that can walk away with his head held high.

Veterans such as Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay and Ray Winstone are all clearly having fun in King of Thieves. Picture: StudioCanal Films

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