My friend Jared Baker lent me this DVD to prove to me just how good Thomas Jane could be, and he was absolutely right. Not only is his based on a true story, but this is a really enjoyable crime drama, with style and great performances. Really a must see. And Thomas Janes does an amazing job with his performance, of a man who loses his way, and goes from being a respected cop, to the most infamous bank robber in South Africa. Really enjoyable and fun. A must see.

Thomas Jane is police Captain Adnre Stander of the south African Police, whose father was a famous General (Marius Weyers) and who just re-married his wife for a second time, Bekkie (Deborah Kara Unger). His best friend is Cor van Deventer (Ashley Taylor) a lieutenant under him. This is in South Africa, and during the period of unrest, where blacks are revolting for their rights, and want Mandella released. As a police officer, Stander is forced to go on riot duty against blacks protesting, and in one bad incident, when they are attacked, he starts unloading his shotgun, killing many blacks, and it disturbs him badly. He goes to his boss, and though it will hurt his career he asks to be taken off of riot duty. In another period of riot, he goes out to work on a case, and realizes there are literally no cops, and a white man could do anything. On the fly, he goes to a bank, and robs it, and gets away easily. And that is the start, he starts robbing banks as a Captain in the police force.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Stander starts using different costumes, and robbing bank after bank, and giving lavish gifts to his wife, but it is gold rolex that turns his friend onto him, and after 26 banks, Stander is caught by his friend Deventer. At trial he mentions he has killed unarmed people, at the riots, but this is just about the case, and he is put in prison for 36 years.

In prison Stander shows how strong he is, and ends up making friends with Lee McCall (Dexter Fletcher) and a former bank robber Allan Heyl (David O’Hara). Stander and Lee fake injuries at a rugby match and escape, and promise to come back for Allan, which they do, and they become the Stander gang.

The gang robs bank after bank, sometimes returning to the same bank in the same day when they hear they missed something big, and robbing banks right next to police stations set up to find them. And they live it up, they dress as well as they can, and steal a Porche and rent a mansion.

Lee though starts to screw things up, he gets a girlfriend, and at a gun shop, shoots the lady, though Strander dresses the wound before they leave with the guns, and Lee opens fire with his machine gun into the ceiling. Then Lee’s girlfriend is caught for shoplifting and has a photo of the Stander gang, so she turns them in, and Lee is caught at the mansion and killed in a hail of bullet fire.

Andre and Allan run, and barely make it through a road block. Andre leaves his friend, and he goes and gets the passport and id of a man who is suing the state for multiple false arrests for looking like Stander, and manages to get on a plane, and get to Florida, though his wife doesn’t come. He is alone. ANd finally he calls his dad using a false voice, and basically tells him he loves him. He then steals a car and runs a light in front of some cops on purpose and gets pulled over, and when they treat him badly he grabs one gun, and is shot to death by the other guard. We learn that Bekky then committed suicide. A sad ending, but a great film.

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An amazingly enjoyable film, everything about it is well done. Quite enjoyable, and really a must see.