Despite a decent cast Loophole is a mediocre heist movie that lacks characterisation, style and tension. It's methodical storytelling which offers nothing new to the genre and a bank robbery story that has been done many times before and since to better effect like The Bank Job (2008), Buster (1988) and King of Thieves (2018), and although these were based on true stories the fictional Loophole, based on the novel by Robert Pollock, did inspire a real life criminal gang known as the Sewer Rats to commit similar robberies.
This low budget British movie made in 1981 looks more like it was made for TV than a theatrical release and is quite satisfied to simply exist than have any ambition. Albert Finney does the best he can with the material as does Martin Sheen in what looks like a cynical attempt to appeal to the US market by having an American star in the cast. He plays an architect living beyond his means and in deep debt who, despite wanting to do the right thing, accepts the bank job that criminal Finney has masterminded in the City of London by using his knowledge of the buildings' architecture.
John Quested's uninspired by the numbers direction condemns this movie to the instantly forgettable pile and it looks like most of the budget went into the underground sewer scenes in the finale. In the hands of a more visionary director it could have been much more exciting but this is a dull, plodding, lacklustre exercise and Lalo Schifrin's lousy score certainly doesn't help matters. You won't want to see this more than once if at all.
This low budget British movie made in 1981 looks more like it was made for TV than a theatrical release and is quite satisfied to simply exist than have any ambition. Albert Finney does the best he can with the material as does Martin Sheen in what looks like a cynical attempt to appeal to the US market by having an American star in the cast. He plays an architect living beyond his means and in deep debt who, despite wanting to do the right thing, accepts the bank job that criminal Finney has masterminded in the City of London by using his knowledge of the buildings' architecture.
John Quested's uninspired by the numbers direction condemns this movie to the instantly forgettable pile and it looks like most of the budget went into the underground sewer scenes in the finale. In the hands of a more visionary director it could have been much more exciting but this is a dull, plodding, lacklustre exercise and Lalo Schifrin's lousy score certainly doesn't help matters. You won't want to see this more than once if at all.