TOWER HEIST(12A, 104 mins) *** Starring Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Gabourey Sidibe, Michael Pena, Matthew Broderick, Tea Leoni, Alan Alda, Stephen McKinley Henderson. Director: Brett Ratner
Thanksgiving is one of the major holidays in America, when shops close and families come together around a dinner table laden with turkey and all the trimmings.
New York City celebrates with an annual parade of giant balloons, and these colourful festivities on the streets of the Big Apple provide a perfect cover for a daring robbery in this action-packed comedy.
Tower Heist is a largely-entertaining if completely preposterous romp, especially when it comes to the climactic theft.
The unlikely mastermind is Josh Kovacs (Stiller), proud manager of The Tower, one of the most luxurious and tightly-secured residences in New York City.
The average apartment costs 5.6 million dollars with stunning views of the city and Central Park.
Josh has been in charge for more than ten years and takes care of his staff.
However, one wrong decision ruins everything.
Josh entrusts the workers’ pensions to Wall Street titan Arthur Shaw (Alda), who is placed under house arrest after he is caught stealing two billion dollars from investors.
The employees’ futures are gone, along with the entire life savings of retiring doorman Lester (Henderson). Convinced Arthur must have a multimillion-dollar safety net concealed in his penthouse, Josh approaches petty thief Slide (Murphy) to plot the perfect heist.
While Special Agent Claire Denham (Leoni) keeps a close eye on Shaw, Josh and Slide initiate their daring scheme aided by Josh’s brother-in-law and concierge Charlie (Affleck), sassy housemaid Odessa (Sidibe), lazy bellhop Dev’Reaux (Pena) and recently evicted resident Chase (Broderick).
Tower Heist gallops along at a fair lick.
Stiller is a likeable hero, risking everything to ensure the staff aren’t swindled out of their dues.
Broderick, Affleck and Sidibe, sporting a credible Jamaican accent as the sassy housemaid with safe-cracking abilities, lend solid support, while Alda essays a fittingly loathsome villain with influential friends in the right places.
However, Murphy threatens to sink the film every time he opens his mouth and launches into his high-volume, flamboyant schtick.
The action sequences are orchestrated with aplomb, careening through the gaping holes in the script at breakneck speed.
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