Looking at the cover for British crime thriller, The Last Heist might make you think that its another (and there’s nothing wrong with that) film that will focus on a robbery, its preparation, and its aftermath. A film that will focus on the ‘one last crime’ that’s mentioned in the title. but The Last Heist does quite follow often trodden road and instead using flashbacks and present day storylines (set six months after The Last Heist) to keep us very nicely entertained for its ninety minute running time. Whilst the heist scenes are fun, well shot (no pun intended) and very entertaining. The Last Heist takes a choice (and its a smart one) to focus not just on the aftermath of said heist (the present day scenes pick up six months are the robbery), but on the lives and the stories of its characters and their relationships to each other. This gives the much needed third dimension to characters in this type of film and really works.

The set up for ‘The Last Heist’ is put in motion after Mick (played by the always brilliant Perry Benson) passes away (after an incident with a grape) but not before he recently told his son about a plan he had to hide his wealth’ One conversation leads to another and the ‘crime gang’ think the key to the location to the hidden wealth is stored in the safety deposit box in a local bank. Thus ‘The Last Heist’ is put into place to retrieve the paper that contains the location of the wealth.

The film is littered with wonderfully cheeky one liners and whilst I’d not describe The Last Heist as a comedy, it is a very funny film but also has a dark gritty edge to it and those two things are balanced really well by director Coz Greenop ( House Red) and from the script by Michael Head & Lucinda Royden.. Fans of the ‘Brit Crime’ film will recognise a lot of the cast and the film does feel like a cousin to the very popular Footsoldier franchise (which is in production for its latest entry) You’ll recognise Terry Stone, best known as Tony Tucker from the Rise Of The Footsoldier films as well as Rachel Warren (who played Lucy in Rise Of The Footsoldier: Origins) and Josh Myers (who played Kenny in Rise of the Footsoldier.3, and also Rise of the Footsoldier:Marbella) So for fans of that series (including me) you’ll have a blast with The Last Heist. Other notable cast members who definitely deserve a shout out are Sam Gittins ( Behind the Line: Escape to Dunkirk,Wolves of War) as ‘Prozac’, Emily Wyatt as Dina (who also appeared in Rise of the Footsoldier:Marbella), Michael Head as ‘Slips’ and my favourite of the cast, and an actor who I always enjoy seeing on screen. Perry Benson who has a filmography that’s features such great British films as Sid and Nancy, This is England, and Love, Honour and Obey) Whilst Mick is a dangerous guy, Perry’s portrayal of him in The Last Heist tiptoes the tightrope of danger, and likeability without even skipping a beat.

The film does have a limited UK theatrical release from 4th November and is available on all digital platforms from 14th November and if you want to put your feet up, and be entertained with a story that will do that for you and is smarter than you may initially think it is when you look at the poster, performed by a cast who look like they had a blast making the film, Then I definitely do recommend The Last Heist. As a side note. id love to see a spin off film about Dina, as there’s definitely scope for a great film about about Dina’s backstory.