Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Tower Heist
2011
**½
Director: Brett Ratner
Cast: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Téa Leoni, Michael Peña, Gabourey Sidibe

The Tower is a luxury apartment block in Manhattan. When its hardworking employees lose their pension savings overnight to a Ponzi scheme operated by one of the building's wealthiest residents, they plan an audacious heist to get their money back. Brett Ratner's modern day Robin Hood story is set in a world which is coming to terms with the effects of the global financial crisis and the actions of fradulent individuals like Bernie Madoff. This caper comedy ignores all of that and offers likeable but instantly forgettable wish fulfilment. However, the jokes are not terribly sharp and the heist itself doesn't have a believable moment.