Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Roger Burke Well, this wasn't the first movie about a great train robbery, and it won't be the last. But, it's one of the best I've seen: excellent cast of characters headed by Stanley Baker, a well-paced plot which concentrates on the planning and execution of the actual daring robbery in 1963; and which allowed the director, Peter Yates, to show how well he can film tight action sequences and car chases.Speaking of the last, it was the opener - a brilliant getaway sequence through London as the robbers elude police Jaguars in their own silver-gray streak - which caught the eye of Steve McQueen who asked Yates to direct his planned movie Bullitt (1968). Good timing for director Yates, that's for sure. If you've seen both movies, you can definitely see the Yates touch....(Ever have the feeling, though, it's a waste of time for cops to chase bad guys in cars? All through the filming of this chase, the police know it's a sliver-gray 3.4 liter Jaguar and it's registration number, all about it. Would have been easier for the cops to just hunt down all owners/dealers etc. Aaah, but we would've missed the excitement....) Anyway ... Robbery goes through the motions of showing how it's all done, how the robbers hide, how they try to get away and, finally, how they all get caught - except for one. No prizes for guessing who that was. As straight, linear filming and story-telling goes, it's professional and highly entertaining, mixing enough gallows humour with the deadly aspects of criminal behavior to satisfy this viewer; and probably most.Give this outing six out of ten. Recommended for all (no sex, no cuss words, no racism, no blasphemy: squeaky clean!).May 28, 2016

Steve Skafte If there's a main flaw to "Robbery", it's the obsession with process and style. The characters are simply not a high enough concern here. There's certainly some good performances. William Marlowe, especially, has the perfect face for this sort of film. Peter Yates is a great director, but he displays only hits of the brilliance displays in later films like "Bullitt", "The Friends of Eddie Coyle", or even "The Hot Rock". All three films cover similar material, but this is the only one that is drowned in documentarian detail.There's not a lot more to say. If you're a fan of Yates, this was a important starting point for him. And the opening car chase is certainly thrilling. You just might enjoy this enough on the first watch.

Milan This movie is well made, with a typical trade mark approach by the crime picture craftsman Peter Yates was. There's no big bang, no unnecessary violence, just the pace that tells the story. This method Yates used successfully in his Hollywood years building up a plot without too much distraction from standard story fillers, which produced great films such as "Bullitt" and "The Friends of Eddie Coyle". In this one Yates gives the audience just enough to paint a picture of a big time robbery, with minimal character development but enough to serve the purpose. A must see for the fans of this classic director, not great but rather good crime movie that they don't make any more.

ShadeGrenade Following a successful diamond robbery in London, criminal mastermind Paul Clifton ( Stanley Baker ) decides to pull off the crime of the century - the theft of three million pounds from a train heading from Glasgow to London. He tries to join forces with other gangs, but they object to the money going to Switzerland. Clifton agrees to share it out on British soil, using a deserted aircraft hangar as hideout. A thief called Robinson ( Frank Finlay ) stupidly attempts to phone his wife during the robbery, and thus the police gain a valuable lead. As the law closes in, Clifton and his gang endeavor to make a getaway...A fictionalised account of The Great Train Robbery of 1963, this Stanley Baker/Michael Deeley production benefits from taut direction by Peter Yates and a first-rate supporting cast. Alongside Baker, there are old reliables such as James Booth, Barry Foster, Frank Finlay, George Sewell and William Marlowe, with the beautiful Joanna Pettet thrown in to provide some glamour. As Clifton's long-suffering wife, she has little to do other than complain about her husband's prolonged absences from the bedroom on account of him forever being in prison.The script by Edward Boyd, Peter Yates and George Markstein does not paint the main characters in any great detail, even Clifton himself ( based on Bruce Reynolds ) comes across as fairly one dimensional. His main nemesis is Inspector Langdon, and James Booth ( who had played 'Hook' in Baker's earlier 'Zulu' ), cast against type for a change, gives far and away the best performance.The film opens with a thrilling robbery sequence culminating in a high-speed car chase through London. Its as exciting as you would expect from the future director of 'Bullitt'. Good music from Johnny Keating too.'Robbery', though, is a curiously old fashioned piece which at times has the flavour of an I.T.C. show such as 'The Saint' ( and which Yates had contributed to ). It was made in 1967, the year that 'Bonnie & Clyde' and 'The Dirty Dozen' raised the bar for screen violence. The only real act of G.B.H. here is when the train driver is brutally coshed ( mirroring what happened to Jack Mills ). No nudity or bad language is on display. Its interesting to reflect that had it been made only a few years later it would have been very different. Look at 'Get Carter' and you will see what I mean.For all its faults, this gripping crime film is well worth seeking out and is vastly superior to the over-sentimentalized 'Buster' starring Phil Collins.