The Stickup (2002)

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

This is one of my favourite films. Yet it started unpromisingly, as I am not particularly interested in car chases. Or, for that matter, films bank robberies. (Rose, you ask, did not the title alert you to the fact that this was a film about a bank robbery?) James Spader (my reason for watching the film) is excellent in it. Part of the reason was continually having to revise my views as to whether his character (Parker) was basically a "good guy" or much more sinister. Spader, who has worked with writer-director Herrington before ("Jack's Back") and since ("I Witness") knows better than to give the audience any clues ahead of time. When he grabbed ambushed Natalie (Leslie Stefanson) and grabbed her by the throat, my attention was riveted.Plus, when his character was shot, he actually looked like he was both in a lot of pain and going into shock. That seems surprisingly unusual.There were some subtle details to satisfy those of us who want to watch the film over and over again. For example, Parker seems to have a Catholic background (despite being separated from his wife); Natalie has a cross on her wall.I liked the part near the end with the injured bad guys limping away. Having lots of dead bodies is a little dull and, well, it is over-kill.Natalie is feisty, which is always a good quality in a screen heroine. The whole cast is good.There are a few flaws with the story: a couple of parts are confusingly edited and I still cannot work out the bit about the cars. I would also have liked to have seen the priest rewarded for his good deed.But these are minor quibbles. This is a very good film, curently very underrated. If you like it, spread the word, maybe we can change that!

***MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS**** Multi-plotted crime thriller involving L.A narcotic detective John Parker, James Slader, who ends up in far-off Vedalia on stress leave from the LAPD and gets involved in the robbery of the towns bank of over a half million dollars.***SPOILERS FROM HERE ON END**** It takes a while to figure out what and who exactly Parker is in that the movie keeps jumping back and forth in what's going on in it. As we soon find out Parker was involved in a drug bust gone wrong back in L.A where his good friend and partner Det. Mike O'Grady, Alf Humphrerys, and four other cops and drug dealers were killed. Having a religious conversion in experiencing his friend and fellow cop O'Grady's last words before he finally passed away Parker became the target of the members of a number his fellow police on the narcotic team. Those fellow cops feel that the guilt ridden Parker is going to talk to a grand jury about their, as well as his, shaking down drug dealers for their ill gotten cash. Something they've, as well as Parker, been doing for years. With Parker now implicated in the Vedalia bank job members of the L.A narcotics division headed by Parker's boss Lt. Vince Marino, Robert Miano, come to the town's police departments aid in order to get the on the loose Parker to give himself up before he ends up dead! Which is exactly what they in fact intend to do to him!On the run with a bullet stuck in his gut courtesy of Vedalia Deputy Sheriff Ray DeCarlo, David Keith, Parker ends up in the safety of local Veldalia hospital nurse Natalie wright, Leslie Stefanson, home sweet home outside of town. Not only had Parker met Natalie the night before at a local bar, where she bought him a drink, but as It turned out Natalie is the ex-wife of Deputy Sheriff DeCarlo the guy who just happened to have shot Parker during the bank robbery escape!It's later with rookie FBI Agent Rick Kindall, John Livingston, checking out all the fact that it becomes clear that Parker was the right man in the wrong place at the wrong time when he bank robbery happened! The right man that is for both his fellow members of the L.A narcotic division as well as Deputy Sheriff Decarlo and his partner Tommy Meeker, Alex Zahara, in him ending up taking the rap for them!Very well done but overly complicated film that's not really that complicated at all in how it tells its story about police corruption in a number of Rashomon-like time frames and flashbacks. We get to see John Parker a fugitive from the law perused by a number of lawmen who in fact are the one's responsible for the crimes that he's being accused of committing! Somewhat let-down of an ending but at the same time in Parker willing to put his neck on the chopping block with the threat of being murdered by the crooked cops, as well as testifying before a grand jury about them, that's the only ending you can really expect a movie like "The Stickup" to have!

Rowdy Herrington's "The Stickup" turned out to be a surprise when it turned up recently on cable. Not having seen it before, we decided to take a chance, which paid up because of the interesting work the director gets out of the star of the film, James Spader. "The Stickup" makes a case for appearing to be something on the surface, while being something else in reality. John Parker, the cop that decides to take a trip up north to clear his head knows about the corruption in his own department and feels horrible about the death of his good partner during a stake out in L.A. When we see him at the beginning of the film bleeding at a church, little do we know what he has been involved in. For all appearances, John has robbed the bank and has gotten away with all the money. An FBI agent is assigned to the case; he is an inexperienced young man who appears not to have a clue of what he is doing, but by looking to clues in the video tape about the bank heist, he will solve the mystery.The film is greatly helped by James Spader, who as John Parker is the best thing in the movie. Leslie Stefanson, is Natalie, the nurse who believes in Parker even when all the evidence points out to his guilt. David Keith is perfectly obnoxious as the sheriff. "The Stickup" is a small film that packs a great punch!

I am a James Spader fan and I did n-joy this movie. The following may be plot spoilers but worth mentioning in a review. All the other comments are correct in being low budget, sound quality and soundtrack decision. However, I thought it was somewhat of a smart movie also. When guilty cop, with a gun, wants to check where the money is he has the innocent cop check and show him. He could have checked himself and it could have been a typical distraction/fight scene. Instead, guilty cop tells other to check while holding him at gunpoint. Another was the smart discovery by the young FBI agent with the ATM camera. Good thinking, and not something I thought to check. Sure, the point about the woman being a nurse AND ex-wife of the town sheriff was a perfect movie plot, however, I thought all was handled on a smart level. Plus the subplot with other FBI agents added life to this movie. Rating: 7 out of 10.