Band of Robbers (film) : A little dumb, but mostly pretty good

I suppose this would be classified as a comedy or a crime comedy. However, the comedic elements are quite subtle a lot of the time and that is part of what makes it so great. The story itself isn't particularly believable but i don't suppose that really matters.

The story is meant to be based on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but I didn't pay attention well enough in high school to confirm or deny if this is true... maybe you can tell me.

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Tho lifelong friends, who are named Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn end up in very different walks of life as the movie begins with Huck being released from prison and Tom is a police officer. During a surprise "welcome out of prison" party Tom presents their small group of mostly simpleton friends with an elaborate scheme that is going to take them on an adventure to retrieve some "lost treasure."

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The plan itself is a very bad plan even if it had been executed in precisely the manor that Tom had in his head. Of course his group of idiots manage to screw up almost every part of it. You've got to just accept the unrealistic nature of the scenarios at this point in order to enjoy the movie. I think a big part of the humor kind of depends on that. The situation itself after all, is not why this film is quality.

What makes this film so great is that it is almost completely devoid of big stars yet the production value, the direction, the music... well, just everything is done very well. I don't really even care much for Hannibal Buress and think his stand up comedy is pretty awful, but I enjoyed even his presence in this.

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I think there is a really good chance that most people have never heard of this one because it was only released in 11 cinemas and then quickly went to Video on Demand. I don't know how long it has been on Netflix but I only just noticed it today. Of the 26 professional critics that have reviewed this movie, 20 of them gave it a positive review. It also won an award at the Naples Film Festival. This begs the question, "why wasn't this a more widespread film?"

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While I feel as though everyone in this movie played their parts really well, the biggest standout IMO was Adam Nee, who plays one of the lead roles of Tom Sawyer. His portrayal of a cop who thinks the world of himself but is kind of a bumbling fool with delusional aspirations is just spot on. It is also worth noting that Adam co-wrote and co-directed this film.

_{From the Movieclip Indie official channel}

Basically, this is not your typical comedy and for me at least that is a big part of the reason why I enjoyed it so much. The funny moments are not so obvious and sometimes they come from complicated conversations about something like racism or simply the back-and-forth between the characters in the story. The fact that most of them are idiots who are completely unaware of their lack of IQ makes it even better - kind of like Ron Burgandy doling out horrible advice.

I wouldn't consider this top-tier but it was certainly a lot better than I expected from a film that almost nobody has heard of before. It wouldn't surprise me of the creation of this film, although not a financial success, has paved the way for future projects by Adam Nee. I know I'll be looking for his name in the future.

An atypical movie for sure, I think that if you enjoy something different from time-to-time, this movie could be a good choice for you.

overall rating = 8 / 10