Warning: Spoilers are present in this article!
Imagine if you worked in a building where some of the wealthiest people in New York City live. Then imagine having everything taken from you by a greedy Wall Street businessman. What do you do? You gather a group of liked minded people to rob the man and get back your savings. This is basically the formula for the crime comedy film Tower Heist.
This Brett Ratner-directed film is so-film. It had thrills and terrific zings peppered throughout the film but it also had problems as well. Before we get to that, let’s learn more about the plot. The protagonist in this film is Josh Kovacs (played by Ben Stiller), who works as the Building Manager of the Tower, a Trump Tower-esque building in New York City. One of the tenants that he became close to was billionaire Arthur Shaw (played brilliantly by Alan Alda) who later is placed under house arrest for stealing $2 billion including from the apartments’ staff. After one of the employees’ attempts suicide, Kovacs schemes to get all of the staff’s money back.
One of the quality features about Tower Heist is its’ ensemble cast and how it gels together. Moviegoers would be impressed with the chemistry Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe and fellow Oscar-nominated actor Eddie Murphy in a scene where Sidibe’s character the Jamaican-born maid Odessa is teaching petty crook Slide (Murphy’s character) how to crack a difficult safe. Others might enjoy the chemistry between Kovacs and F.B.I. Special Agent Claire Denham (played by Tea Leoni).
However, there were two problems that plagued the film. The first problem for Tower Heist is the pacing. The film takes 15 minutes to set up the who’s who in our cast and does not jump directly into the plot right away. The pacing problem does not end there near the middle, the audience could lose focus and start mind wandering or looking at their phones.
The second problem that was featured through the film was the ending. Yes, the staff gets their money back and the bad guy is defeated, but there was a problem with the good guy heading to jail anyway and the film faded to black. What the writers should have done was have an Ocean’s Eleven ending and see Kovacs’ character being released from jail with either Denham waiting for him and they drive off into the sunset.
Final Thoughts and Grade: While the actors, stunts and cinematography rocked this film, the two problems in Tower Heist cannot be overlooked. If you are looking to watch this film, my advice is wait for the film to come out on DVD. 3.5/5 C-
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