03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Heist film starring British acting royalty now streaming on Prime but fans all say the same thing
Although the movie's cast is dotted with acting royalty as well as thrilling source material, the film failed to make an impact — both commercially and critically.
Directed by James March, King of Thieves is a 2018 British heist film based on a true story. Co-written by Joe Penhall, Duncan Campbell, and Mark Seal, the movie depicts the real-life events of the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary — a heist that was executed over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend in April 2015 by a group of experienced elderly thieves.
Starring acting heavyweights like Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, Michael Gambon, Francesca Annis, Charlie Cox, Jim Broadbent, Paul Whitehouse and Ray Winstone — the true crime movie follows a gang of retired criminals (and one young-blooded alarms expert).
The group plans and executes a daring robbery in London's jewellery district during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. However, greed quickly turns their last hurrah into a collapsing nightmare.
Although the movie's cast is dotted with acting royalty as well as thrilling source material, King of Thieves failed to make an impact — both commercially and critically.
According to Box Office Mojo, the film garnered only $7,518 domestically in the United States and Canada, of which $3,502 was earned during the opening weekend. The movie grossed approximately $11.5 million at the worldwide box-office.
Most of its scenes were filmed in central London and around Margate in Kent, featuring locations such as the Wig and Pen Pub, the Nayland Rock Hotel, Harbour Arm, the area outside Turner Contemporary, and Margate railway station. Abbott's Cliff in Dover is also visible in the train scene where Brian Reader (Michael Caine) travels to Margate.
With a 31 per cent review rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie didn't manage to make too many waves. Critics and audiences were left unimpressed with the film's execution, with one reviewer writing: 'The Hatton Gardens heist was a ballsy operation. You can't say the same about King of Thieves.'
Another critic said: 'King of Thieves really should have delivered way more cinematic swag than it does.'
While one wrote: 'Torn between jaunty genre hijinks and a bleaker streak of realism, it's a strangely stiff, lethargic account of a cracking tale.'
A harsh critical review of the film said: 'There is one joke in King of Thieves, and it's that the thieves are old. That's it—that's the whole movie,' while another one said: 'Marsh had his hands on some very fancy jewels. What he didn't have, sadly, was the script to make them gleam.'
Audiences were left disappointed as well, with one viewer saying: 'Passes the time but little else. Tries hard to be both a comedy and a thriller but doesn't really succeed at either. For such a daring burglary, this could have surely been done a lot better.'
Another audience review compared the film to the botched heist and wrote: 'Based on a real account of a robbery in London and featuring a superb all British cast. Very much like the botched heist, the plot here is in shambles all over the place.'
Yet another viewer couldn't hide their disappointment and said: 'It's poorly written. The heist isn't that exciting. The humour isn't funny.'
While one viewer added: 'Not a gripping tale. At times the audience were laughing - was this supposed to be a comedy??? Difficult to remember the names of the was who?"
They further said: "Undoubtedly the royalty of British male actors but the story was weak. It could have been much better if there was character and story development of the Police activity pitted against the perpetrators. Shame - not worth a look.'
