(2001)
3
Rachel Deahl
A comedic caper that overstays its welcome, Barry Levinson's 21st century version of Butch and Sundance pairs Bruce Willis with Billy Bob Thornton as a disparate duo of bank robbers who fall for the same girl, played by Cate Blanchett. Much of the laughs are culled from the clash between Willis' knuckle-headed ladies' man and Thornton's brainy hypochondriac. With a failed storytelling trope that posits the beginning of the film at the end of the story and Levinson's intermittent use of digital video (presumably to create a faux-reality look), Bandits appears to be more complex than it actually is. A middling comedy done up in dramatic clothing, Bandits is unable to trade on its early gags (many of which revolve around Willis and Thornton's silly getups and references to bad '80s songs) and ultimately succumbs to its tired story line and one-note characterizations.
Bandits on AllMovie
Bandits (2001)
