‘Heist’ lands with silly fun
Some treasures do wash ashore in the incredibly ridiculous but entertaining “The Hurricane Heist,” directed by action-schlock auteur and “The Fast & the Furious” OG Rob Cohen.
Written by Scott Windhauser and Jeff Dixon from a story by Anthony Fingleton and Carlos Davis, the script lends itself to inadvertent camp: There’s not a shred of irony or subtext, every character states their motivations up front, and the hurricane-inspired set pieces are completely insane.
Toby Kebbell puts on his best ’Bama twang to star as Will Rutledge, a cautious, straight-arrow meteorologist, who gut-feels that Hurricane Tammy — bearing down on fictional Gulfport, Ala. — is going to be a chartbuster (at one point he delivers a sincere speech about man-made climate change and wanting to understand and stop these storms).
The only thing edgy about the earnest Will is his whip: a tactical weather truck called the Dominator that’s like the Batmobile mated with a tank. It deserves costarring credit.
His brother Breeze (yes, Breeze), played by Ryan Kwanten, is a layabout mechanic who adds instant coffee grounds to his whiskey breakfast. The brothers, who watched Hurricane Andrew squish their father with a silo when they were young, get caught up in a robbery at the federal treasury in their tiny town, coming to the assistance of ATF agent Casey (Maggie Grace).
Will doesn’t have much use for guns, but he can harness the force of the hurricane against these bandits. And what a crew of bandits. Ralph Ineson chomps the scenery as Conor, who just wants to retire to his native Ireland. He’s brought along his lover, plus a pair of savage brothers and a hacker duo dressed for a night out, not a hurricane, who say things like “do the hack.”
The delicious silliness of “The Hurricane Heist” creeps up on you, because the wild action sequences as Will wea-ponizes the hurricane happen with little fanfare or preparation. He uses hubcaps as murder Frisbees, stages a “pressure inversion” in a mall that leaves him and Casey whipping in the wind like weather balloons, and runs a football play involving semis full of money out-running the storm’s eye wall.
Tonally, Kebbell proves to be the film’s linchpin — as Will, he’s kind of dopey, kind of sweet, he tries hard and succeeds; maybe not in the way that he originally thought but had fun nonetheless. His performance is the perfect reflection of the ways in which “The Hurricane Heist” is ultimately appealing.