The Hurricane Heist

Last updated
The Hurricane Heist
The Hurricane Heist.png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rob Cohen
Screenplay by
  • Scott Windhauser
  • Jeff Dixon
Story by
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Shelly Johnson
Edited byNiven Howie
Music by Lorne Balfe
Production
companies
Distributed by Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
Release date
  • March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Running time
103 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$35–40 million [1] [2]
Box office$32.5 million [1] [2]

The Hurricane Heist is a 2018 American disaster heist action film directed by Rob Cohen, written by Jeff Dixon and Scott Windhauser, and starring Toby Kebbell, Maggie Grace, Ryan Kwanten, Ralph Ineson, Melissa Bolona, James Cutler, and Ben Cross. It was released in the UK as a Sky Cinema Original Film. The film is about a maintenance worker, his meteorologist brother, and a treasury agent contending with a band of rogue treasury agents who plan to use a Category 5 hurricane to cover their tracks of a bank robbery. The film was released on March 9, 2018, it received mixed to negative reviews and was a box-office bomb, making just $32 million against its estimated $35 million budget.

Contents

Plot

In 1992, a category 5 hurricane named "Andrew" hits the town of Gulfport, Alabama. Will and Breeze Rutledge are evacuating from the destructive hurricane with their dad. However, their truck gets stuck after avoiding the toppling tree in front of them, and they are forced to take refuge in a nearby house. While trying to save the truck from blowing away, strong winds blow a water tank and it crushes their father.

In 2018, another destructive category 5 hurricane named "Tammy" approaches Gulfport. Federal Reserve Treasury agent Casey Corbyn is ordered by fellow employee Randy Moreno to summon Breeze, who now works in maintenance and whose brother Will is a National Weather Service meteorologist, to fix the generator at a cash storage facility.

While she is out of the facility, rogue Treasury agents led by Connor Perkins infiltrate the facility and hold Moreno hostage. Their plan is to steal $600 million, and Perkins enlists computer hackers Sasha and Frears to crack the code of the vault. Failing to decrypt it, Perkins realizes that Corbyn may have changed it, so he has his men find her. Sasha and Frears have to use a brute-force attack using the town's transmission tower.

As Corbyn and Breeze drive back to the facility, they encounter the mercenaries, and Corbyn engages in a shootout with them. Will helps her escape with his Storm Research Vehicle called the Dominator, but Breeze is left behind and is captured and taken hostage, forced to repair the generator.

Will is upset when he learns that his brother is in danger. Determined to save him, he and Corbyn meet Sheriff Jimmy Dixon at his station. Unfortunately, Dixon reveals himself to be one of Perkins' cohorts and tries to take Will and Corbyn hostage. Corbyn shoots the sheriff, and they escape. When Dixon and one of his deputies chase them, Will manages to knock their car with his Dominator. Realizing that the tower is being used to crack the vault's code, Will and Corbyn manage to topple it moments before the decryption is completed. Perkins' men spot them and engage in a gunfight with them, but they escape. Dixon turns on Perkins, confronting him over a botched heist in the previous hurricane. When Dixon wants to claim all the money, Perkins shoots him dead and persuades Dixon's men to find Corbyn.

While looting a mall, Corbyn calls Perkins and makes a deal for the release of Moreno and Breeze as long as she opens the vault and gets the money. When Perkins asks where the trade will be conducted, Corbyn tells him to meet them at the Gulfport mall. Meanwhile, Will and Corbyn make a plan to shoot the roof glass, causing the mercenaries to be sucked out through the roof. After Will talks to Breeze, who has arrived with the mercenaries, Corbyn shoots the glass roof, sucking the mercenaries out into the storm as planned. Corbyn, Will, and Breeze manage to hold on. After the storm surge, Corbyn gives herself up while Breeze rescues the stranded Will. Back at the Treasury facility as Corbyn and the remaining mercenaries arrive, Perkins breaks his deal to release Moreno and kills him as revenge for the deaths of Jaqi and Xander.

As the eye of the storm passes, Perkins and his men take the money, using three of the facility's truck trailers, along with Corbyn. Will and Breeze follow them. With the eye wall on their tail, Will and Breeze take over a truck. After a struggle with Perkins, the eye wall sucks the money out of one of the trucks and then the truck itself. Perkins is then killed after his own detached trailer crushes him. When Breeze's truck engine backfires and burns, Will and Corbyn transfer him to their truck. However, when they attempt to rescue Sasha and Frears, they are sucked into the storm.

William, Breeze, and Corbyn manage to outrun the storm safely, and drive away into the sunshine, having saved $200 million.

Cast

Production

In January 2016, it was announced that Rob Cohen had signed on to write and direct the film, then titled Category 5, with casting underway and a Summer 2016 principal production start set. [3] In February 2016, it was announced that the film had been acquired for distribution in a large number of international locations via the European Film Market. [4] In May 2016, it was revealed that Toby Kebbell had been set to star in the film. [5] In June 2016, the rest of the cast was announced. [6]

Principal photography on the film began in Bulgaria on August 29, 2016. [7] In July 2017, the completed film, now titled The Hurricane Heist, was acquired for domestic distribution by Entertainment Studios with an early 2018 release date slated. [8]

In the UK, the film was released by Altitude Film Distribution and was the second Sky Cinema Original Film.

Reception

Box office

The Hurricane Heist grossed $6.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $26.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total $32.5 million against a production budget of $35 million. [1]

In the United States and Canada, The Hurricane Heist was released on March 9, 2018 alongside The Strangers: Prey at Night , Gringo , and A Wrinkle in Time , and was initially projected to gross around $7 million from 2,402 theaters in its opening weekend. [9] However, after making just $950,000 on its first day, weekend estimates were lowered to $3 million. It ended up grossing $3 million, finishing ninth. [10]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 47% of 60 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.8/10.The website's consensus reads: "The Hurricane Heist is a throwback to the overblown action thrillers of yesteryear -- and a thoroughly middling example of why they don't make 'em like this anymore." [11] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [12] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale. [10]

Alonso Duralde of TheWrap criticized the film's direction, acting and overbearing musical score, saying, "Critics often lament that worthy films released early in the year are too often forgotten during awards season, so let's be very clear up front: For your Best of the Worst of 2018 consideration, in all categories, The Hurricane Heist." [13] Andrew Barker, writing for Variety , gave the film an ironic recommendation, calling it the best worst movie of 2018 and saying: "All three of our heroes take time out in the middle of survival situations to discuss their undying love of football and the Second Amendment, but they also believe in climate change. If our divided country can't come together over a movie this wonderfully terrible, what hope do we really have?" [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Fast and the Furious</i> (2001 film) 2001 action film directed by Rob Cohen

The Fast and the Furious is a 2001 action film directed by Rob Cohen from a screenplay by Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist, and David Ayer, based on the Vibe magazine article "Racer X" by Ken Li. The first installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, it stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Rick Yune, Chad Lindberg, Johnny Strong, and Ted Levine. In the film, Brian O'Conner (Walker), an LAPD officer, goes undercover in the street racing world to investigate a group of unknown hijackers, believed to be led by Dominic Toretto (Diesel).

<i>Cliffhanger</i> (film) 1993 American film

Cliffhanger is a 1993 American action thriller film directed and co-produced by Renny Harlin and co-written by and starring Sylvester Stallone alongside John Lithgow, Michael Rooker and Janine Turner. Based on a concept by climber John Long, the film follows Gabe (Stallone), a mountain climber who becomes embroiled in a heist of a U.S. Treasury plane flying through the Rocky Mountains. The film premiered at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, and was released in the United States on May 28, 1993, by TriStar Pictures. It received positive reviews and earned $255 million worldwide, becoming the 7th highest-grossing film of 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Frears</span> British film director and producer (born 1941)

Sir Stephen Arthur Frears is a British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply-drawn characters. He has received numerous accolades including three BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph named Frears among the 100 most influential people in British culture. In 2009, he received the Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He received a knighthood in 2023 for his contributions to the film and television industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Ivan</span> Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 2004

Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season.

<i>Hard Rain</i> (film) 1998 film by Mikael Salomon

Hard Rain is a 1998 disaster heist action thriller film directed by former cinematographer-turned director Mikael Salomon, written by Graham Yost, produced by Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, and Gary Levinsohn, and starring Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver, and Ed Asner. An international co-production among the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, and Japan, the plot centers around a heist and man-made treachery amidst a natural disaster in a small Indiana town.

<i>Oceans Eleven</i> 2001 film by Steven Soderbergh

Ocean's Eleven is a 2001 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Ted Griffin. The first installment in the Ocean's film trilogy, it is a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film of the same name. The film features an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy García, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Elliott Gould, Bernie Mac, and Carl Reiner. The story follows friends Danny Ocean (Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Pitt), who plan a heist of $160 million from casino owner Terry Benedict (García), the lover of Ocean's ex-wife Tess (Roberts).

<i>Category 7: The End of the World</i> 2005 American television miniseries directed by Dick Lowry

Category 7: The End of the World is a 2005 three-hour American made-for-television disaster miniseries and B movie that was broadcast in the United States on CBS in two parts, the first part aired on November 6 and the second on November 13. It was directed by Dick Lowry. A sequel to the 2004 miniseries Category 6: Day of Destruction, this film starts directly after the events shown in that film. The new director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must continue to contend with the massive storm system that hit Chicago in the first film. The storm has continued to gain strength, spawning additional storms around the world, with three converging over Washington, D.C., and forming a massive category 7 hurricane.

<i>Jack Frost</i> (1997 film) American film by Michael Cooney

Jack Frost is a 1997 American direct-to-video black comedy slasher film written and directed by Michael Cooney. It stars Scott MacDonald and Christopher Allport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Securitas depot robbery</span> 2006 heist in Tonbridge, England

The 2006 Securitas depot robbery in Tonbridge, England, was the UK's largest cash heist. It began with a kidnapping on the evening of 21 February 2006 and ended in the early hours of 22 February, when seven criminals stole almost £53 million. The gang left behind another £154 million because they did not have the means to transport it.

<i>Switchback</i> (film) 1997 American film

Switchback is a 1997 American thriller film written and directed by Jeb Stuart. It stars Dennis Quaid, Danny Glover, Jared Leto, Ted Levine, William Fichtner and R. Lee Ermey. An FBI agent tracks his son's kidnapper to Amarillo, Texas, where two lawmen are seeking to use the case in their election bid.

<i>They Came to Rob Las Vegas</i> 1968 film by Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi

They Came to Rob Las Vegas is a 1968 crime film directed by Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi and starring Gary Lockwood, Elke Sommer, Lee J. Cobb, and Jack Palance. The screenplay concerns a crime outfit who plan a heist to rob a hi-tech truck containing $7 million in Las Vegas. Its Spanish title was Las Vegas 500 Milliones. Filming took place in California, Nevada, and Spain.

<i>Tower Heist</i> 2011 heist comedy film directed by Brett Ratner

Tower Heist is a 2011 American heist comedy film directed by Brett Ratner, written by Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson, based on a story by Bill Collage, Adam Cooper and Griffin and starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy with Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Judd Hirsch, Téa Leoni, Michael Peña, and Gabourey Sidibe in supporting roles. The plot follows employees of an exclusive apartment building who lose their pensions in the Ponzi scheme of a Wall Street businessman and enlist the aid of a criminal, a bankrupt businessman, and an immigrant maid to break into his apartment and steal back their money while avoiding the FBI agents in charge of his case.

<i>Fantastic Four</i> (2015 film) 2015 film directed by Josh Trank

Fantastic Four is a 2015 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. Directed by Josh Trank, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jeremy Slater and Simon Kinberg, it stars Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell. The film follows a group of intelligent teenagers that build a transdimensional portal, causing them to gain superhuman abilities.

<i>Monster Trucks</i> (film) 2017 film by Chris Wedge

Monster Trucks is a 2016 American live action/animated monster comedy film produced by Paramount Animation, Nickelodeon Movies and Disruption Entertainment for Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Chris Wedge, in both his live-action directorial debut and first directorial effort outside of his own company Blue Sky Studios, and written by Derek Connolly, from a story by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger and Matthew Robinson. The film stars Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Amy Ryan, Rob Lowe, Danny Glover, Barry Pepper, Thomas Lennon, and Holt McCallany, and follows a high schooler who finds an escaped monster living in his truck.

<i>Braven</i> 2018 film

Braven is a 2018 action thriller film directed by Lin Oeding and written by Mike Nilon and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett. The film stars Jason Momoa as Joe Braven, with Garret Dillahunt, Stephen Lang, Jill Wagner, and Brendan Fletcher. Principal photography began in December 2015 in Newfoundland, Canada. The film was released on February 2, 2018.

<i>Den of Thieves</i> (film) 2018 film by Christian Gudegast

Den of Thieves is a 2018 American heist action film written, directed, and produced by Christian Gudegast. It stars Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Evan Jones, Dawn Olivieri, Mo McRae, and Max Holloway. In the film, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department clique look to stop a gang of thieves consisting of ex-MARSOC Marines that is planning to rob the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles.

<i>Dora and the Lost City of Gold</i> 2019 film by James Bobin

Dora and the Lost City of Gold is a 2019 American adventure comedy film directed by James Bobin from a screenplay written by Nicholas Stoller and Matthew Robinson and a story by Tom Wheeler and Stoller. It is a live-action adaptation of the animated television series Dora the Explorer created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes, and Eric Weiner. The film stars Isabela Moner, Eugenio Derbez, Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, with Danny Trejo as the voice of Boots. The titular Lost City of Gold is based on the legendary Inca city, Paititi. Dora and the Lost City of Gold was produced by Paramount Players and Nickelodeon Movies in association with Walden Media, MRC and Burr! Productions, and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Destroyer</i> (2018 film) 2018 film directed by Karyn Kusama

Destroyer is a 2018 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by Karyn Kusama, written and co-produced by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, and starring Nicole Kidman with Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Scoot McNairy, Bradley Whitford, and Sebastian Stan. The film follows a former undercover police officer (Kidman), who takes revenge against members of a gang, years after her case was blown.

<i>211</i> (film) 2018 film by York Shackleton

211 is a 2018 American crime action film directed by York Shackleton and written by John Rebus, based on a screenplay by Shackleton. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Dwayne Cameron, Alexandra Dinu, Michael Rainey Jr., Sophie Skelton and Ori Pfeffer. Very loosely based on the 1997 North Hollywood shootout, the plot follows a police officer and a teenager who are locked in a violent shootout with heavily-armed bank robbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Sally</span> Category 2 Atlantic hurricane in 2020

Hurricane Sally was a destructive and slow-moving Atlantic hurricane that was the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Alabama since Ivan in 2004, coincidentally on the same date in the same place. The eighteenth named storm and seventh hurricane of the extremely active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Sally developed from an area of disturbed weather which was first monitored over the Bahamas on September 10. The system grew a broad area of low-pressure on September 11, and was designated as a tropical depression late that day. Early the next day, the depression made landfall at Key Biscayne and subsequently strengthened into Tropical Storm Sally that afternoon. Moderate northwesterly shear prevented significant intensification for the first two days, but convection continued to grow towards the center and Sally slowly intensified. On September 14, a center reformation into the center of the convection occurred, and data from a hurricane hunter reconnaissance aircraft showed that Sally had rapidly intensified into a strong Category 1 hurricane. However, an increase in wind shear and upwelling of colder waters halted the intensification and Sally weakened slightly on September 15 before turning slowly northeastward. Despite this increase in wind shear, it unexpectedly re-intensified, reaching Category 2 status early on September 16 before making landfall at peak intensity at 09:45 UTC on September 16, near Gulf Shores, Alabama, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (180 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 965 millibars (28.5 inHg). The storm rapidly weakened after landfall before transitioning into an extratropical low at 12:00 UTC the next day. Sally's remnants lasted for another day as they moved off the coast of the Southeastern United States before being absorbed into another extratropical storm on September 18.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Hurricane Heist (2018)". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database . Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "The Hurricane Heist (2018)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  3. Jaafar, Ali (January 20, 2016). "Rob Cohen To Direct 'Category 5' For Mark Damon's Foresight Unlimited". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  4. Tartaglione, Nancy (February 13, 2016). "Rob Cohen's 'Category 5' Sees Storm Of Sales Action For Foresight – Berlin". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  5. Evry, Max (May 13, 2016). "Toby Kebbell Joins Rob Cohen's Heist Movie Category 5". ComingSoon.net . CraveOnline Media. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  6. Busch, Anita (June 22, 2016). "Rob Cohen's 'Category 5' Adds Maggie Grace, Others To Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  7. "PRODUCTION: American Action/Adventure Category 5 Starts Shooting in Bulgaria". Film New Europe. Film New Europe Association. September 5, 2016. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  8. Ramos, Dino-Ray (July 17, 2017). "Rob Cohen Action-Thriller 'The Hurricane Heist' Acquired By Entertainment Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  9. Rubin, Rebecca; McNary, Dave (March 6, 2018). "Box Office Preview: 'A Wrinkle in Time' Looks to Lure Kids as 'Black Panther' Stays Muscular". Variety . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  10. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 10, 2018). "'Black Panther' Steps Ahead Of 'A Wrinkle In Time' As Diversity Dominates Weekend Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  11. "The Hurricane Heist". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved February 14, 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  12. "The Hurricane Heist Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  13. Durande, Alonso (March 9, 2018). "'The Hurricane Heist' Film Review: Caper Forecast Is Stupid With a Chance of Bonkers". TheWrap . Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  14. Barker, Andrew (March 9, 2018). "Film Review: 'The Hurricane Heist'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2018.