Stander

Rating:
Summary: IT DESERVES A WATCH
Review: AFTER KILLING A BLACK MAN, A COP [TOM JANE] DECIDES TO QUIT HIS JOB AND BEGIN ROBBING BANKS. DOESN'T START OFF TOO WELL BUT, IT IMPROVES AS THINGS BEGIN TO PROGRESS. THE PLOT IS GOOD, THE ACTING IS DECENT, AND WHILE IT'S NOT A MASTERPIECE ON ANY LEVEL, IT'S STILL BETTER THAN MOST DIRECT-TO-VIDEO EFFORTS. TOM JANE, WHO STARRED IN LAST YEAR'S VERSION OF ''THE PUNISHER'', PUTS ON A GOOD PERFORMANCE IN THIS MOVIE. IF YOU NEED SOME TIME TO KILL, HEAD TO YOUR LOCAL VIDEOSTORE AND RENT THIS. THIS MOVIE IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY.

Rating:
Summary: Bank robbing a protest against Apartheid? Give me a break!
Review: Based on a true story, the 2003 film sounded interesting. It's set in South Africa and starts in the 1970s when the evils of Apartheid were apparent. At that time Andre Stander was a young newly-married police officer. During an uprising, he shot and killed an unarmed protester. This disturbed him so much that he turned to bank robbing. Eventually he went to prison for this. In prison, he met up with a couple of fellow inmates. They escaped and went on a bank robbing spree. The ending is inevitable.

How the criminal bank robbing activity was a protest against Apartheid is rather fuzzy. But I watched the film anyway, always waiting for something to grab my sympathy. The film is almost two hours long and I was soon bored. Now I think I should have turned it off early, rather than waiting for the end. But I saw every single scene. What a waste of time!

Rating:
Summary: this is a good watch
Review: Of course you should like the Actor and yes I like this actor he is very under-rated. If you saw the Sweetest Thing then you know he has range. If you saw Punisher then he does better here. This story follows the Andre Stander real story pretty much to a tee, As some critics say you seen one bank robbery you seen them alland mabe they hung a little much on that, but still leaves enough story for this to be watched more than once which I would give it high ratings for. Well done, good acting all around and entertaining to watch..

Rating:
Summary: Little to care about
Review: Reading about this movie you would think the protagonist is some sort of hero fighting against apartheid. The beginning of the movie shows how he becomes disillusioned with the system of apartheid. But, he becomes a bank robber to enrich himself and his gang, not to make some grand statement against apartheid. The story is neither compelling nor admirable. At the end of the movie there is a statement that Nelson Mandela was freed and became president of South Africa, as if Stander had some influence on that. Don't waste your time on this.

Rating:
Summary: "If you're a white guy, you can get away with anything"
Review: So speaks Andre Stander the day after a massive riot in Johannesburg South Africa in which Stander as a police captain finds himself killing a Zulu man in a morally shattering encounter. This utter disillusionment with the police force and their responses to the Apartheid situation makes Stander withdraw emotionally and physically from the Riot Squad and eventually his challenge that the blacks are unduly mistreated leads him to break the white laws by initiating a string of bank robberies - not for money but for a bizarre sort of revenge.

Stander (Tom Jane) is good at what he does, both as a cop and as a criminal, but his clever bank heists eventually result in his being jailed where he finds two partners (David O'Hara and Dexter Fletcher) to join him in escape and in one of the longest bank robbery sprees in the history of South Africa. Stander remains conflicted: he loves his new wife Bekkie (Deborah Kara Unger), he knows what he is doing is wrong, but the money is often shared with the blacks of Johannesburg, and he is driven to leave South Africa to eventually locate in Lauderdale, Florida. The eventual results of this man's career bring this film to a close in an action packed yet very soulful way.

The film as written and directed by Bronwen Hughes captures the atmosphere of the era in South Africa, and gives us a realistic look at the plight of the Africans in the Apartheid, offering insights to both sides of the conflict like few others have in film. He coaxes fine performances from his large cast of actors and extras, making this film less an action thriller than a character study of the enigmatic Andre Stander.

The true star of this film, a film that deserves far more attention than it has been given, is Tom Jane. Jane is a strong actor, able to take on language accents with the best of them, and able to make us understand the spectrum of personality in this fascinating character. There are many scenes in which he plays in full nudity, quite apropos to the story, but just an indication of his commitment to 'fleshing out' of his role. He is an actor to watch, an actor unafraid of tough roles in contrast to the showy Hollywood star parts. Grady Harp, December 2004

Rating:
Summary: worth a look
Review: Stander is a good flick,it doesnt really even try to tell you his motivation for his actions,thats it biggest problem.the actors are good,its too short,this is an interesting story, but there is something about it that i really like.a very odd flick,kinda hollow,but good.

Rating:
Summary: Stander is great
Review: Stander is a great movie, and Jane proves he is a great actor. I don't know much about the history of the movie or how accurate its telling was to the true story, but it keeps your interest from the beginning. I recommend the movie to anyone who likes crime movies or action. It gets a bit slow from time to time, but Jane's portrayal of someone disillusioned with his life keeps you locked into the plot.

Rating:
Summary: great robbery movie
Review: there is just something about a cop who does bad things that just seems so true. at least this dude ain't trying to hide the fact that he is scandelous. this movie surprised me. at first i thought it was just gonna be another cheesy action flick, but once the storyline started to pick up, you really feel as if it was happening. from the time where tom jane shot that man who was running at him and all the way through, it was just a great set of action sequences placed together. it is definately worth a look for anyone who likes to see the robber's side of the story.

Rating:
Summary: Stander Falls Down
Review: Tom Jane, who recently starred in the dissappointing, "The Punisher" dissappoints yet again "Stander."

Here he stars in the real life account of Andres Stander, a White Apartheid-era South African cop who later became his country's most notorious bank robber.

To his credit, Jane gives a solid perfomance. But he's failed by a weak script which never fleshes his character out. As a result, Stander remains enigma not only to his family, friends, and partners in crime but also to the viewer.

The movie never really lets us see what makes Stander tick and what drives him to bank robbery. We are led to believe that it stems from his role in the police suppression of a Black South African protest march against the country's education policies. When White South African cops respond with lethal violence, Stander shoots an unarmed Black man.

The movie suggests that this action plunges him into a deep emotional and spiritual crisis that finds him questioning the very system he's been laboring in service to.

I can't buy that because Stander is shown to be a high ranking, motivated officer who is well-liked by his peers and superiors. He is even referred to at one point as "the youngest captain in the history of the force."

Are we to believe that Stander achieved this level of success in this system in some sort of blissful ignorance that his government was corrupt, racist, and violent? Can we accept that a law enforcement officer of this rank and prominence in South Africa at that time had not only never before engaged in unnecessary force against Blacks but was also clueless about what his fellow cops really got up to whenever they stormed the Black townships?

The movie also doesn't do a good job of explaining whether or not Stander saw crime as a means of atoning in some way for past actions or if he just decided buy into another form of corruption purely for personal gain.

This is because Stander, as shown here, certainly wasn't a Robin Hood figure who stole money only to give it to poor, South African Blacks.

The film depicts only one instance where Stander gives stolen money to a Black person, in this case a pan-handling child. The action seems to be motivated more by a desire to not be caught with evidence than by any sense of altruism.

Director Bronwen Hughes seems unable to decide if this film should be a commentary on the policies of Apartheid-era South Africa or just a ripping crime yarn. "Stander" ultimately emerges as neither.

A dissappointment.


Rating:
Summary: STANDER stands alone!
Review: Wow, what an excellent surprise this movie was. Rented it, not expecting such a well told tale, with lots of emotion and action.
And it is based on a true story, to boot! Thomas Jane steals this movie, hands down. Even though there are several excellent actors in this movie. He acted here with a more rich-filled script than obviously The Punisher gave him.
Which is another movie that wasn't bad.
But this is no Punisher. It is an excellent and well told story, filled with raw emotions and solid pacing.
I've seen much worse films in the theater!
The ending is very anticlimatic, very moving and engaging.
Do yourself a favor, buy or rent this one...but watch it. Excellent in all areas.