Review by John Delia
There have been many films involving breaking into banks and dealing with a difficult vault in a creative way. It takes a good writer to change up the plot enough to make the audience think it’s their first time watching the crooks pull off the impossible. In The Vault, the film does just that. While the background story is a bit overused, and gets a might predictable, it’s the meat of the premise that really puts the viewer on the edge of their seat.
In 1645 Spanish ship Guadeloupe, that was commandeered by Sir Francis Drake, sank 25 miles off the coast of Spain. Having had the experience of diving for salvage, Walter Morland (Liam Cunningham), has been searching years for the ship that was carrying gold, jewels and something even more valuable.
It’s the early 2000’s and Morland’s crew finally discovers the sunken ship and retrieves the booty only to have it confiscated by the Spanish and put in an ultra-secure chamber of the Bank of Spain. Thus sets up the impossible job of getting into the vault, that’s heavily guarded by armed security and cameras, to get to one of the items included in Morland’s find. For that, Morland puts together his crew and hires Thomas Laybrick (Freddie Highmore) the top graduate in engineering from Cambridge University, UK.
Much like the films Fast and Furious, if you get the right people to do the job and have a lot of luck, good things may happen. It’s that kind of energy, smarts and perseverance that Director Jaume Balagueró brings to this action thriller to make it a winner. Choosing a well-rounded cast that make their characters believable, he sets out to create the mystique of an underground super vault impenetrable from any intruder. Much like the real Bank of Spain in Madrid, it’s a monster of engineering and Balaguero makes it one of the central characters in the film.
Fun to watch it all play out, even with the few flaws of déjà vu and a scene or two of too much imagination, I did like the film. It had awesome sets, perfect cinematography and it had me sold on wanting to visit Madrid one day for some unforgettable views from above and ground level of the awesome city.
The Vault has been rated R by the MPAA for language. It also contains action violence and some scenes of extreme peril. The film opens March 26 at Select Theaters, Digital HD, and VOD. Check your local listing for a theater near you. My evaluation is 4 out of 5 Stars for the entertaining creative plot, characters and unique twists.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Freddie Highmore, Astrid BergeĢs-Frisbey, Sam Riley, Liam Cunningham, with Famke Janssen
Directed by: Jaume Balagueró
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
MPAA Rating: R for language
Running Time: 1 hr. 58 min.
Opening Date: March 26, 2021
Distributed by: Paramount
Released in: Select Theaters, Digital, and VOD