Going in Style

A remake of the 1979 George Burns comedy, Going in Style teams Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin in a hobbling heist. Their combined crotchety charm means director Zach Braff can get away clean with a clunky plot where the actual planning and execution of the bank robbery is barely more than a montage. After a rabble-rousing start where Caine finds himself in the middle of a stick-up, he's inspired to do the same. Empathy comes easy as the bank threatens to make our hero homeless while the factory where the friends have toiled for 40 years announces redundancies and an empty pension pot. They're only taking back what's theirs and seek the help of Peter Serafinowicz who plays Caine's "lowlife" ex-son-in-law. But his attempts to make this stoner a better father to his granddaughter, Freeman's secret battle with illness and Alda's budding romance with a brassy Ann-Margret overtake the story. That's a shame because there are plenty of laughs to be had with the concept of doddery old men attempting a stealth mission. Braff, whose Garden State evidenced a quirky sense of humour, is less ambitious here save for a few visual flourishes, and leaves all the heavy lifting to his geriatric stars. After all, they're old but safe hands.