Bandits (2001 film)

Plot

Two friends and convicts, Joe and Terry, break out of Oregon State Penitentiary in a concrete mixing truck and start a bank robbing spree, hoping to fund a dream they share. They become known as the "Sleepover Bandits" because of their modus operandi: they kidnap the manager of a target bank the night before a planned robbery, then spend the night with the manager's family; early the next morning, they accompany the manager to the bank to get their money. Using dim-witted would-be stunt man Harvey Pollard as their getaway driver and lookout, the three successfully pull off a series of robberies that gets them recognition on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, and ultimately the reward for information leading to their capture is increased to $1 million.

When Kate, a housewife with a failing marriage, decides to run away, she ends up in the hands of the criminals. Initially attracted to Joe, she also ends up in bed with Terry and a confused love triangle begins.

The three of them go on the lam and manage to pull off a few more robberies, but after a while the two begin to fight over Kate, and she decides to leave them. The two criminals then decide to pull off one last job.

The story is told in flashbacks, framed by the story of the pair's last robbery of the Alamo Bank, as told by Criminals at Large, a fictional reality television show, with which they taped an interview stating that Kate was only a hostage, not a participant. The show tells the story of their last job, which is known to be a failure when Kate tips off the police and the two are caught in the act. The two then begin to argue when Joe tells the police "You won't take us alive!" and the argument gets to the point where the two of them shoot each other dead.

At the end of the film the real story behind the last job is revealed: Harvey used some of his special effects to make it seem as though Terry and Joe were shooting each other. Dressed as paramedics, Harvey and his girlfriend Claire then run in and place the stolen money, Terry, and Joe in body bags while Kate (who was in on the plan) distracts the police by pretending to pass out in shock upon seeing the "bodies". In the ambulance, Harvey used electronics to blow out his tires which sent the ambulance into a junkyard. Under his jumpsuit, Harvey was wearing a fire suit. He lit himself on fire and rigged a bomb to go off. Harvey, Claire, Terry, and Joe flee the scene, leading officials to believe that the bodies were burned beyond recognition. Kate receives the $1 million reward for having turned them in.

Reunited, Joe, Terry, Harvey, and Kate make it to Mexico to live out their dream. The last scene shows Harvey and Claire getting married in Mexico and Kate kissing Joe and Terry passionately.

Cast

• Bruce Willis as Joe Blake
• Billy Bob Thornton as Terry Collins
• Cate Blanchett as Kate Wheeler
• Troy Garity as Harvey Pollard
• Brían F. O'Byrne as Darill Miller
• Stacey Travis as Cloe Miller
• Bobby Slayton as Darren Head
• January Jones as Claire ("Pink Boots")
• Azura Skye as Cheri Woods
• Peggy Miley as Mildred Kronenberg
• William Converse-Roberts as Charles Wheeler
• Richard Riehle as Lawrence Fife
• Micole Mercurio as Sarah Fife
• Scott Burkholder as Wildwood Policeman
• Anthony Burch as Phil
• Sam Levinson as Billy Saunders
• Scout LaRue Willis as Monica Miller
• Tallulah Belle Willis as Erika Miller

Soundtrack

1. "Long Way Home" – J.J. Cale
2. "All the Tired Horses" – Bob Dylan
3. "Gallows Pole" – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant
4. "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum" – Bob Dylan
5. "Holding Out for a Hero" (written by Jim Steinman) – Bonnie Tyler
6. "Twist in My Sobriety" – Tanita Tikaram
7. "Rudiger" – Mark Knopfler
8. "Just Another" – Pete Yorn
9. "Walk On By" – Dionne Warwick
10. "Superman (It's Not Easy)" – Five for Fighting
11. "Crazy 'Lil Mouse" – In Bloom
12. "Just the Two of Us" – Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr.
13. "Wildfire" – Michael Martin Murphey
14. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (written by Jim Steinman) – Bonnie Tyler
15. "Bandits Suite" – Christopher Young
16. "Beautiful Day" - U2
17. "Kill The Rock" - Mindless Self Indulgence
18. "The Chase" – Elmer Bernstein
19. "Mustang Sally" – Bonny Rice
20. "" – Rubén Fuentes
21. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - Solomon Linda, Hugo Peretti, George Weiss and Luigi Creatore
22. "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" - Rudy Clark
23. "Wear it so Well" - Lucas Shine

Production

Bandits was filmed at around 60 different locations in Oregon and California.

Scenes were filmed in Oregon: Broadway Bridge (Portland, Oregon), Lake Oswego, Oregon City Silverton, and Salem, and Oregon State Penitentiary.

Scenes were filmed in California: Mill Valley, San Anselmo, Tomales, and Marshall, and Santa Rosa, Sebastapol, Tomales Bay, Dillon Beach, Bodega Bay, Nick's Cove, Point Montara Lighthouse, Half Moon Bay, and Salinas.

The series of taped interview flashbacks, by Criminals at Large, a fictional reality television show, with show host (Bobby Slayton) was filmed at the Sheats–Goldstein Residence.

Reception

Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Time Out wrote:

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the movie 2 stars out of possible 4, praising the main performances but criticizing the uneven tone, writing:

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film opened at #2, behind Training Day, earning $13 million. It beat out other newcomer Corky Romano by just over four million dollars. The film grossed $67.6 million worldwide, against a budget of $75 million. Another report suggests a budget of $80 million, with domestic Box Office of $41,575,141 and overseas Box Office of $26,056,762.

Home media

Bandits was released on DVD and VHS on April 2, 2002. On March 22, 2016, the film was released on Blu-ray.

Legacy

In 2007 in New York, five men were prosecuted and convicted for crimes imitative of this film's plot.

References

References

1. (October 4, 2001). "Bruce Willis, Barry Levinson (director of film) and Billy Bob Thornton at the premiere of 'Bandits' at Mann Village Theater in Westwood, California.".
2. (2001-09-25). "Barry Levinson and Matthew Modine attend a special screening of MGM's 'Bandits' at the UA Union Square Theater in New York City".
3. "Bandits (2001)".
4. (3 December 2018). "Vida Bandida (2001): Trilha sonora".
5. "Bandits". [[tcm.com]].
6. (13 October 2000). "Oregon in brief". [[Albany Democrat-Herald]].
7. (5 November 2021). "Bruce Willis Becomes #OregonMade in "Bandits" at the Hollywood Theatre". The Oregon Confluence.
8. "Bandits : Production Information".
9. "Filming History in Marin".
10. "Movies Featuring Lautner Buildings".
11. "Bandits (2001)".
12. "Bandits Reviews". [[Metacritic]].
13. "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
14. "Bandits". [[Time Out (magazine).
15. "'Bandits' fresh and funny • Unlikely buddy movie gets 4 stars". hardnews.ansci.usu.edu.
16. Ebert, Roger. (October 12, 2001). "Bandits movie review & film summary (2001)".
17. "Bandits: Willis being Willis can't save the day this time". [[The Blade (Toledo, Ohio).
18. (October 15, 2001). "Weekend Box Office Report:Training Day' Nips 'Bandits' for Second Week at No. 1".
19. "Weekend Box Office Results for October 12–14, 2001".
20. "Bandits (2001)".
21. (15 June 2019). "Bandits (2001)".
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23. Topel, Fred. (February 1, 2002). "Extras May Steal the Show On Bandits DVD".
24. (March 31, 2016). "Bandits".
25. (4 October 2007). "'Sleepover Bandit' Sentenced to 14 Years for Robbery".