While the heist genre deals with criminality, there’s often a thieves’ code that endures. Features like Heat, Thief, and Raffifi have highlighted this aspect in their storytelling. Now, Armor hopes to join the list thanks to Sylvester Stallone‘s stoic performance. Director Justin Routt places his thief at the foot of an immovable object – a former cop with his own form of justice. While there are aspects of Armor that fit the subgenre of “dudes being dudes,” a few too many moments fall into tropes to truly lift the movie into the higher tier of heist features.
Armor – The Plot
Former cop James (Jason Patric) struggles with alcoholism and his attempt to remain sober. He’s taken a job as a security guard and helped his son Casey (Josh Wiggins) take a seat by his side. After they pick up a transport with unusual cargo, they’re ambushed on a bridge by a professional crew of thieves. Led by “Rook” (Sylvester Stallone) and “Smoke” (Dash Mihok), they flip the armored vehicle on its side and try to take their mark. However, when James and Casey realize they will not leave the scene alive, they mount a defense.
Too many tropes trouble Armor
When tropes become too common in a movie, it makes the action setpieces feel far less successful. In many moments of Armor, it’s not only predictable, but feels like action movie karaoke. There’s a hotshot robber (Mihok), the obviously corrupt bank manager, and the “hidden” trauma that screams to come out into the open. These aspects hurt Armor from the start. It’s not only less compelling, but it makes the drama feel contrived. The convenience of the experience takes away from the stakes.
Additionally, a heist film is at its best when it pulls one over on the audience and the characters within the story. That is never in play for Armor. If the action flick needs to divert from this path, it needs to make up the stakes in the emotional performances. Instead, the characters’ stock nature makes it easy to tell everything you know about each man from their first moments on screen. Routt slightly over-telegraphs these aspects of the story, leading to an unsatisfactory experience.
Sly and Patric do not give their best effort.
More than any other issue facing Armor are two flat performances at the top. Stallone and Patric might headline the movie, but they seemingly sleepwalk through it. Stallone, in particular, feels like a copy of a copy. He barely mumbles his lines and lets the movie come to him. There are times when an action star shows up for their paychecks, and that seems to be Stallone’s approach here. As he sleepwalks through the story, we’re left wanting more, especially because he has the showiest part.
Meanwhile, Patric cannot bring the dramatic heft to his story. He overplays the haunted look, and Routt overplays cuts to the “water bottle” the former cop cannot put down. Late in the film, he reveals he’s far from sober, and even his son calls him out on how obvious his alcoholic tendencies have been. There’s something interesting in a person being so self-deluded, they believe they’re pulling off sober. However, Patric barely modulates out of his negativity, which sinks the most exciting moments of the movie.
Is Armor worth watching?
There are simply too many better action films to spend your time on Armor. If you’re interested in checking out the Stallone and Patric starrer, we recommend focusing on the side characters. Both Wiggins and Mihok bring far more exciting performances to the screen. Mihok gets to play very big, and the unhinged approach suits his performance style. Meanwhile, Wiggins proves he can hold his own and outact veteran actors around him. Those two are the reason to tune in, but knowing that most will show up to check out the headliners, you may not find Armor to your liking.
Armor releases in select theaters and on VOD on November 22, 2024.
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