Nice effects though.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Blistering performances.

This movie was quite down to earth, better than I expected. Childhood friends know each other well and their emotions. A decision is made to kidnap Mr. Heineken (Anthony Hopkins). All goes well, but as the days and weeks go by waiting for the ransom and to go back to a "normal life" everything starts to unravel. Mr. Heineken does not seem like he has been the kidnapped. Immediately he plays upon his capture's emotions, even saying that one cannot have friendship and money at the same time. This is exactly what happens to the kidnappers, leading to their capture and ruining their friendship. Mr. Heineken had really been control all along. He makes it his personal mission to get the kidnappers, not for their actual crine but because they dared to slight him and his money and power.

Certainly not the 'best movie in the world', 5 out of 10 is probably too generous for this film.The true story of the kidnapping of Freddie Heineken by an 'inexperienced' gang of criminals, falls short in every department, even the great actor Anthony Hopkins cannot lift this any higher than average fair.The kidnappers are as unrealistic as they come, they spend most of the movie shouting at each other, with no charisma, they simply cannot be believed. It's a pity, a good movie could of been made of this subject but this certainly is not it.

The events of 30 November 1983 when Freddy Heineken was kidnapped in Amsterdam are well-documented. It resulted in the highest paid ransom up to that point in history. The movie is a bit disconcerting because it features an all-star cast of British actors, and a former Brit as Mr Heineken, but overall did not detract too much from the story when you finally realize they are all Dutch.The group of five men are depicted as needing money, they have what seems like a legitimate business but need a bank loan. Unable to secure that they resort to crime. The plan is to kidnap Freddy Heineken, hold him for ransom, and expel all their financial woes.Anthony Hopkins, former Brit and now American citizen, is very effective as Freddy Heineken. As history witnesses the men were able to get the money, split it up, and get away. But only for a short time. Even though two of them managed to get to France, and one to Paraguay, they all ended serving prison terms. Not all of the money was recovered.There is nothing very special about this movie, mainly interesting because of its historical account. The crooks are depicted as mostly bumbling, they had no real strategy for the aftermath of the kidnapping and ransom delivery.

This is based on a true story/event, so if you are aware of that "case" or have read into it (I didn't before I watched the movie), you know the answer. Obviously I won't reveal that in my review. I will say that I originally planned on giving it a 6/10, but the actors involved convinced me to go for the 7.Don't get me wrong, there are many confinements in their "parts" and there are more than a couple of obstacles that seem to high to overcome. But this is as mentioned based on real people. So while some things probably were changed or added with creative liberty, the general feel of the people involved could not be just changed. And while some criticize Sam Worthingtons character and his "poor" decisions, I personally do disagree. I wouldn't act like him, but while he's a hot head, there is some sense in what he's doing