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The Score

Old safecrackers never die; they just wanna pull one last job.

In “The Score”, fence Max (Marlon Brando) makes aging thief Nick (Robert De Niro) an offer he can’t refuse – steal a priceless historical artifact from the Montreal Customs House. Newbie Jack (Edward Norton) is already inside, acting the part of a mentally challenged janitor. He knows the layout and the security set-up. He just needs Nick to crack the safe. Nick resists, until he decides the payoff would let him retire.

Most of the movie is set-up for the job. Nick and Jack have to figure out how Nick can sneak in and out of the building, how to bust the safe, and how to break computer security codes (the hacker, played by Jamie Harrold, is a highlight). At the last minute major hurdles pop-up, throwing a monkey wrench into the plan – and the characters’ innate distrust of each other puts the whole job at risk.

Nick’s love interest (Angela Bassett) is really a throwaway character, there to give Nick some motivation to break all his rules for this score, and the movie’s a little slow in spots. Otherwise, it seems well thought out and it keeps you wondering whether the team will pull off the heist – and who’ll end up with the prize.

DVD extras include several deleted scenes; the most fascinating one has Brando and De Niro ad-libbing different versions of one of their scenes. You also get commentary by director Frank Oz and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

Written by: Auriette Lindsey

Reviewers Rating: 6.5
Reader's Rating: 6.00
Reader's Votes: 1

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