The Hurricane Heist Parent Guide
The ambitious project with a by-the-numbers story feels like an expensive made-for-TV movie.
Parent Movie Review
Chock full of thunder and fury, The Hurricane Heist offers a by-the-numbers story of a big time theft by a bunch of buffoons… except we are supposed to believe they’re professionals. For parents, the issues here (aside from the fact it’s dishonest to steal money from the government) revolve around violence, with lots of shootings, beatings and bad driving. The mayhem comes with frequent bloodied faces and other injuries, however it stops short of explicit. The storm itself may also frighten children, especially if they’ve experienced similar volatile weather. Other concerns include infrequent scatological profanities and a woman who wears a slinky dress to the robbery.
Budgeted at a reported $35 million, director Rob Cohen (whose portfolio reaches back to the 1980s TV series Miami Vice) had some difficult decisions to make. Do you spend your relatively small allotment on actors, writers or special effects? It seems the latter won the bid and, even then, this is more like an expensive made-for-TV movie… just like they used to make when Miami Vice was must see TV.
The ambitious project involves a robbery at a federal facility in Louisiana where hundreds of millions of dollars in old bills has been shipped to be shredded. Loaded on three matching green semi-trucks, the invincible Casey Coburn (Maggie Grace) leads the parade of bundled cash toward Shreveport.
However the convoy’s ultimate destination is about to get hit by a hurricane that’s bigger and badder than anything previous. At least that’s what Will (Tony Kebbell), a professional, storm chasing meteorologist says. The problem is no one believes the guy who spends his days riding around in a high-tech, government issued, armored SUV – including his brother Breeze (Ryan Kwanten… and the character’s name is not a typo).
There’s a herd of bad guys, a few surprises and a lot of cheesy lines. (“Come to papa!” says the chief scoundrel when he sees the money.) It’s also chock full of dialogue that tells us what every character is thinking – probably just in case the inferior acting doesn’t make it obvious.
The Hurricane Heist makes the whole process of holding up three truckloads of money look so ridiculous, I think it’s highly unlikely to spawn mimicking behavior. Instead this dash-for-cash’s best hope is to become a cult favorite… after being locked away for 10 to 20 years.
Directed by Rob Cohen. Starring Toby Kebbell, Maggie Grace, Ryan Kwanten. Running time: 103 minutes. Theatrical release March 9, 2018. Updated June 7, 2018About author
The Hurricane Heist
Rating & Content Info
Why is The Hurricane Heist rated PG-13? The Hurricane Heist is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of gun violence, action, destruction, language and some suggestive material.
Violence: The plot of this movie revolves around a heist during a very powerful hurricane. Children who have sensitivity to depictions of storms may be frightened. Several characters are shot, initially with dart guns and later by conventional weapons . Characters engage in hand-to-hand fighting, some while driving vehicles, resulting in various crashes, property damage and implied loss of life. Blood effects are seen, including faces covered in blood. A bloody, deformed limb is briefly shown and a character explains the arm is broken. Trusted characters (police, etc.) act dishonestly. Two young children are caught in a hurricane with their father: they seek shelter in a house and, while looking out the window, they see their father killed by flying debris (no detail of this is shown). A moment later the house is blown from its foundation with the children caught inside, they both survive. Many characters drive recklessly and use vehicles as weapons. Explosions are seen. The “good guys” plan a car bomb based on ingredients used by Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh, who is specifically mentioned. We see them gathering fertilizer and fuel in preparation.
Sexual Content: A woman is wearing a somewhat revealing dress (bare shoulder and upper breast) throughout the movie. A man holds up a pair of women’s underwear that he finds while visiting another man’s apartment, a comment is made about the many women he has been with. A character verbally contemplates threatening to “cattle prod” a woman’s “privates” to extract information from her.
Profanity: About a dozen scatological terms, a few crude anatomical references and other mild profanities are heard.
Alcohol / Drug Use: A man is seen drinking from a flask and pretends to be drunk.
Page last updated June 7, 2018
The Hurricane Heist Parents' Guide
There are two women in this movie. How are they different? Are either of them "stereotypes"? What roles to the men play? Do they fit typical male "action" characters?
Do you ever find yourself thinking, "Why don't they just do...", while watching movies? What things in this film don't make sense? For example, how would you get three truckloads of money out of Shreveport without getting caught?
$35 million is a small budget for a major action movie. If you see this production, what parts would you think about cutting out so you could save more money for those other areas? Where would you chose to put your cash into to improve the final product?
News About "The Hurricane Heist"
Maggie Grace plays the role of Casey, a security guard at a US Treasury facility. She is on duty the day a hurricane is forecast to hit the area. Unbeknownst to her, a group of thieves have decided the storm would be the perfect cover for a heist. As they attempt their break-in, she is caught in their line of fire. Although she recruits help to try and stop the criminals, she knows they will come looking for her because she knows the combination to the vault. Meanwhile, the raging winds threatens to blow all both the good guys and bad guys away.
If the trailer is anything to go by, Hurricane Heist will present plenty of action, gunplay and moments of peril. My guess is that it will be raining cash before the credits roll.
interestingly enough, this movie opens in theaters (9 March 2018), just at the close of Den of Thieves, another screenplay about a robber -- at the US Federal Reserve. Hurricane Heist is rated P-13, opening it to a larger potential audience than the R-rated Den of Thieves.
Home Video
The most recent home video release of The Hurricane Heist movie is June 5, 2018. Here are some details…
Hurricane Heist releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) on June 5, 2018. The following extras are included:
- Audio Commentary with Director Rob Cohen
- Deleted Scenes
- The Eye of the Storm - Featurette
- Hollywood Heist: A Conversation with Rob Cohen - Featurette
- VFX Reel