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44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out

44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out (2003)

January. 01,2003
|
6.3
|
R
| Action TV Movie

After a failed bank robbery, two heavily armed men hold the Los Angeles Police Department at bay for 44 minutes.

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Reviews

Wordiezett
2003/01/01

So much average

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Stoutor
2003/01/02

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

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Kaydan Christian
2003/01/03

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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Cheryl
2003/01/04

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

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lizziebeth-1
2003/01/05

Fabulously edited together from dramatised story "highlights" and direct-to-camera "debfriefings" played by actors, 44Mins(2003) is a very effective retelling of this infamous robbery.The chief protagonist is Frank McGregor(Michael Madsen), the filmic representation of the actual LAPD Robbery and Homicide Division(RHD) detective who led the real 1995 task force for the so-called High Incident Bandits. The real bandits first became known to police during their anomalous career of deadly high-powered bank-and-armored-car robberies during 1993; by 2nd May 1996 they netted $2mill in one bankjob alone, and disappeared to waste their fortune.Michael Mann's Heat(1995) was based on this same crime gang, as is the opening prologue of the new Batman--Dark Knight(2008). At the time, the LAPD thought the gang had 6 members; by 1997 there were only 2 left. Obviously these two wound down to few friends or safe-houses, or goals other than fantasizing about Corvettes, Mustangs and "Mexican b!tches". The other driver of this true story is a young SWAT Team leader, "Donnie" Anderson (Ron Livingston, "Sex and the City" favorite and older brother of actor John Livingston). Curiously, the characters are are only referred to by their first names in this docudrama, so the "Donnie" character is composited as one of the three SWAT officers who finally brought down the second gunman.The beauty of 44Mins's storytelling is its emphasis on how people, even the LAPD, rise to the occasion during extraordinary events. It really is an ennobling tale.This one day, the 28th February 1997, has gone down in the annals of Hollywood history for its real-life police heroism, in ways that no Batman movie can equal. Despite frequent high profile accusations of racism (eg the Rodney King bashing in part due to police overreactions to LA violence during the early 1990s), some actual LAPD bravery trumped the criminal assault on them that day.Incredibly, the real HIB criminals were jailed years before over AK47 possession, but were (almost certainly corruptly) allowed to keep their rifles and sell them to pay for their legal costs! Another gun-related incident that outraged the real LAPD was the easy availability at the time of assault rifles through gun shops--let alone bullets at K-Mart.There are NO DEER in Los Angeles. Even Al-Qaeda only use jet fuel and possibly dirty nukes; so if we can't trust the LAPD with 9mm Barettas, why should we have to "wrest" AK47s from Chuck Heston's "cold, dead hands"?Indeed, watching the real events recreated, the scene of ignorant Laurel Canyon drivers actually driving up to and around the getaway car still looks heartstopping. "It was a SERIES of miracles that no civilians or police were actually killed", observed one of the policemen on the day.Eagle-eyed viewers will catch in Donnie's on screen family photos the actual much older Don Anderson being awarded the Medal of Valour in 1997, who has since died at age 62 in his squad-car, still training young LAPD officers. Much of the credit for 44Minutes' achievement has to go to the Casting Directors (Kim Williams of Reuben Cannon &Associates) and the Director/Co-Producer of this high quality made-for-TV docudrama, Canadian Yves Simoneau("The 4400" (pilot), Void Moon(2009)). These people have put together not only an enormously credible team of actors who each have the requisite gravitas, but this police procedural's tone of cinema vérité is always sensitive, and frank. Simoneau pulls few punches with some minimal human gore: his caked-on blood realism, for instance, is incredibly effective, as the police finally peel off one gunman's blood-soaked mask sticking to his lips and eyes. The bloodied eye and mashed face look far more satisfying--and authentic--than Two-Face's CGI hatchet-job in the new Batman(2008).Very subtly, Simoneau also reveals the shallowness of the LA civilians who quickly flooded the LAPD with gifts, cakes and "I (heart) LAPD" signs the day after the shootout, when just days before they'd been completely hostile. Granted, Simoneau might deny any intention to achieve this, but the juxtaposition is obvious to anyone who knows how fickle LA is.Simoneau's cast is faultless; I can well accept Office Space(1999) "slacker" Ron Livingston as a SWAT team leader, Michael Madsen(Kill Bills 1&2, L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve(2001)) as the seasoned lead detective, and even Col.Dale Dye(Ret.) as the SWAT Chief. But the film also boasts a most impressive Latino actor, Jullian Dulce Vida, as the Assistant Manager of the Bank of America branch. Dulce Vida capably repeats the real man's personal heroism in the face of terrifying assault, as he saves the lives of all the civilians within the bank, including that of his somewhat haughty Anglo boss. The boss is forgettable; Dulce Vida is a standout. His pitch-perfect characterisation has him frequently looking askance at his largely useless boss, a sign of the actor's wonderful commitment. Just excellent casting by the director.This un-hyped but shocking story plays like the 9/11 collapse footage shot in situ by the French Naudet brothers. Simoneau's dramatisation depicts similar professionals on the job so that there is only hindsight "distance" for the viewer between watching 44Minutes, and having survived it.Brilliant.10/10.

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CineCritic2517
2003/01/06

This movie was based on actual fact? I sincerely hope not!We get to see what appears to be numerous armed cops empty an equal amount of guns at 2 guys who only got armored torso's. That's a great idea; aim for the armor!...excuse me, but how about those big fat unmissable heads or their legs for crying out loud. Or were there invisible tanks protecting them? were they from Crypton?Did i miss something here?This movie started out decent enough but after 20 minutes of shoot-out it really takes a turn to boringlane.And that documentary style didn't work for me either, but thats just something one finds likable or not.Highly unbelievable stuff which makes it hard to see it through 'til the end.3/10 for the fine editing.

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lord woodburry
2003/01/07

i reserve 10s for movies with a message but 44 minutes is more story than message. pit a hand full of street cops with six shooters against two professional hoods with enough arms to supply the us army. up the ante with hostages held in a bank vault. leave the well-trained swat team waylaid in LA area traffic and you have a shoot out and tense moments that rival any tales the wild west could have ever imagined.many commentators didn't like the evangelical Christian in uniform. too pat, too much good guy bad guy, so they said. frankly Christianity does seem to catch on in police departments and in the military; surprisingly hazardous life and death occupations lend themselves to bible reading; on the other hand, in normal circumstances, bank robbers generally don't carry bibles. i wonder why.watch the flick. you won't be able to turn it off.

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sinco
2003/01/08

Contrary to my principles, let me first come up with a conclusion, because I have just seen this piece of "art", and still am under strong impressions. The reader is asked to excuse my stronger vocabulary.Well, this movie is absolutely horrible, and I would never bother to write a single word about it, if it were not for the fact that "44 Minutes" made me sick to death, which rarely happens to me. The fact that I paid for that does not exactly makes me feel better, as well as the fact the movie deserved the high user rating here.So what is wrong with the movie? It has a fashionable title - "44 Minutes". One first thinks about "15 Minutes", which is by the way a much better movie, but still bad in my book, and indeed the two can be compared to some extent. But, as luck would have it, the things they share are their worst characteristics. They both feature Mr. Oleg Taktarov, who with his strong Russian accent obviously meets the popular expectations and prejudices. His purpose is to appeal to the Cold War mind. Ah, do we miss the good old times. Now, I don't imply that he is a bad actor, I am yet to judge his true performance, but he is simply not a true individual here, he is more like an archetype. How anyone can still indulge in such things is completely beyond my comprehension. We can recognize modern American xenophobia here. The point in the movie when Taktarov explains to his companion that Romanians are not Germans, and that they are in America is truly laughable. Are we to assume that the greatest desire of the wretched duo is to become "true" Americans? Then, there is the media issue. Yes, it seems that the most of what we learn comes from cameras, interviews and reporters. The director should have made us feel the rhythm of the presumed 44 minutes. Instead he bores us with interviews throughout the movie like in a cheap TV show, trying to reinvent the wheel. In 15 Minutes the issue of media is the central one.The point is presented in a way a teacher addresses an obtuse student, but that deserves a separate comment, we are focusing on 44 Minutes now. So, I have been trying to identify the purpose of this movie. What is it? To provide good time for the audience? To glorify weapons? To glorify police? Portray violence? Oh yes, the officer gives the Bible to the underage delinquent. So it must promote peace and understanding after all? I don't think so, but don't ask me. I only know I didn't enjoy any of this.Ah, Michael Madsen. I admit, I am a big fan. I hoped he would be a bright point, but I was wrong. It's not his fault though. As the final note, comparing "firepower" to "willpower" at the end of the movie was one of the worst lines I have ever heard.To summarize, on the scale 1-10, I give it a pure, unadulterated 1.

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