“How to Rob a Bank” (2026) is an entertaining and energetic flick that follows a team of bank robbers who care more about their follower count than the money. With the help of Reagan Gardner (Zoe Kravitz), a former independent software developer inadvertently turned an eCriminal under house arrest, FBI Special Agent John West (John C Reilly) is trying to stop the anarchy that this group is unleashing. Do these two groups share similar goals and have more in common than appearances suggest? With the veneer of meaning, it is a heist movie wrapped in twenty first century aesthetics and messaging, which means it is ultimately vapid.
I had a choice between “Ebenezer” (2026) and “How to Rob a Bank.” Despite loving anything related to that holiday Dickens classic, I’m still mad at Johnny Depp for “Transcendence” (2014) and seeing the trailer for Mortdecai (2015) among so many other stinkers. He owes me money and time. Plus, with Nicholas Hoult at the helm of the ensemble, it was a no brainer. Hoult has a stellar acting record since childhood and thanks to those baby blues, looks better as a zombie than most people would after a spa day and a complete makeover. God gave with both hands. (Congratulations, Hoult, on the additions to your family.) As the Wolf or Ryan Robinson, Hoult plays the bleach blonde mastermind behind these outlaws. Emi (Anna Sawai) is Ryan’s love interest. Vincent Deluca (Pete Davidson) is the weapons and tactical expert, who is married to Skyler (Tati Gabrielle) and father to Michaela (Alessandra Frugoli). Hugo Diaz (Rhenzy Feliz) is the baby-faced hacker. Andrew Boyd (Kyle Mclean) joined the group because of his relationship to Vincent, but is often forgotten during the quieter moments and barely gets a backstory.
This group has such great chemistry that it is easy to overlook the huge swaths of gaping holes in their backstory. It is enough that they seem like a cohesive group who would do anything for each other that the dots do not need to be connected, but it does often feel as if some elements got left on the editing room’s floor. For instance, a Diaz cousin (?), appears to be pivotal to the group but he appears once in the entire movie. Huh? Writer Mark Bianculli, who usually writes for television and only has one feature under his belt, may cloak them in bad boy veneer, but breaks out the old-fashioned cheese when filling in their backstory. If it was not for the styling and being shot in Pennsylvania, they would be salt of the earth Midwesterners driven to criminality because of the system. “How to Rob a Bank” is ultimately an old-fashioned movie that wants everyone to be affable and deliver as few consequences as possible. Director David Leitch, who also voices Morpheus, the guinea pig, is game and shows that a cell phone is muted so the audience knows that the person on the other end will not get traumatized. Reilly gets saddled with an awkward reassuring line for the audience so they know that an overturned cop car suffered no injuries so moviegoers can still root for the robbers. It does not quite stick the landing at the end because of its leaning towards the Hays Code.
This inclination explains why Reilly and excellent character actor Paul Sparks as Paul Roberts play the FBI agents. They are cast as sober, serious true believers. In Reilly’s case, his character’s ability to befriend his younger, criminal partner reflects their relatability. In their scenes, there is so much product placement: Cheetos, Primanti Bros., and possibly Starbucks. Eagle eyed viewers will spot a bowl of Cheerios on Reagan’s coffee table and an Oreo in her hands. If you are waiting for her to turncoat and enlist to be the latest Merry Man in this social media savvy Robin Hood’s team, do not. She is too busy repenting for her sins of the past. The weird thing about seeing Kravitz in a movie is knowing that if she wrote and directed “How to Rob a Bank,” it would probably be better. She is kind of forced to hang around with no purpose long after her character did her job.
“How to Rob a Bank” does have one villain, and it is a bank head honcho, David Walton (Christian Slater). His bank, Vitality Trust, is almost impossible to break into. He is the personification of a problematic system that hurts the masses, but again, he is just a person, a cog in a big wheel so the denouement does not feel cathartic, but empty. The filmmakers are kind of at sea when it is time to reveal the big plan that is supposed to change everything and rise to the level of their chronically online rhetoric. Please no one let the French see this movie because then it will just be embarrassing. Real talk: Americans only riot for sports and preceding a lynch mob. The fomenting lines are terrific, but it is all sizzle, no steak. This group has merch. Also, their homes are so spacious and lovely. One book gets tossed around as inspiration for the movement. The filmmakers are so removed from even conceiving what poor is like or to possess an ideology in your bones, it is almost hilarious.
What do Americans do well? Screencasting! The title is the group’s handle on YouTube, and “How to Rob a Bank” gets punctuated with a bunch of YouTube content as an alternative to watching the regular movie. Normally when movies use screencasting to maintain momentum and offer variety, it feels like it dilutes or diverts the story’s point. It often comes across as a way to run the clock in the hopes that no one will notice the lack of substance. Jimmy Johenning and Josh Oreck created the social media sequences, and it meshed seamlessly within the movie. Young Mazino was genuinely hilarious as the Tik Tok lawyer.
Speaking about break out performances, Nicholas J. Verdi, the FBI SWAT team leader, feels like he was cast to be in a different movie probably starring Jason Statham. None of the robbers are about that life, but this guy seems like too much of a bruiser for the FBI. Great job, but what is happening?!? Leitch probably could not resist having one really solid fight scene even though it sticks out like a sore thumb.
“How to Rob a Bank” is stylish and lively, but ultimately forgettable and guilty of wanting to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to waking people up. It is not a big deal considering that the only way to get the masses to eat vegetables is to mask its flavor with junk food. If this movie is the only way to get audiences to even get close to considering the inequities in society, something is probably better than nothing. It also begs for a sequel, which feels unnecessary, but would not it be funny if it is the only way to get people invested in awakening to the US as a carceral state. It is too bad that the writer could not bring it in for a landing.
“How to Rob a Bank” was released in theaters on November 13, 2026.
