Truth be told, I had very mixed feelings about 2014's 'We still kill the old way.' The concept was great and it boasted a swell cast, but the writing was uneven, and the energy and impact it should have had just wasn't there. Far be it from me to say "never again," though; I'll watch just about anything, and with a sequel to follow, well, it was all but inevitable I'd watch it eventually. No sooner has 'We still steal the old way' begun than it starts to form certain impressions. The core cast returns, with Lysette Anthony also reprising her supporting part, all to my delight. Filmmaker Sacha Bennett and his collaborators illustrate fine capability and finesse in all the fundamentals: direction, cinematography, lighting, editing, effects, production design, art direction, costume design, and so on and so on. There's some wit and charm in the dialogue and scene writing. And there's also this: this 2016 feature also readily recalls the modern 'Ocean's' heist flicks, socially minded crime flicks like 'Going in style' or 'Golden years,' or like TV series like 'Leverage,' and so on and so on.
All this seems well and good on paper; in practice, it immediately comes across as Too Much. It is especially Too Much in light of plot, and plot development, that feels emphatically forced and downright scrambled, as though Bennett and his co-writers were wracked to pull something together. My favor is not bolstered by the juxtaposition of the anticipated class and cleverness with crudeness and chewing of scenery; some beats are decidedly rushed as they present. The picture also seems too smart and snappy for its own good, an all too familiar difficulty of style over substance in pretty much every regard. That's not to say that it's not made well, that there aren't good ideas, or that it's not entertaining. I admit I'm partial to Anthony, owing to her part in one of my personal favorite movies ('Krull'); of the feature itself, I think my favorite aspect may be the portrayal of the continuation of underworld powerplays and dynamics within the institutional setting. I do, in fact, like 'We still steal the old way.' Is it anything that anyone specifically needs to see? Maybe not so much.
I've been awfully critical of the picture up to this point, and that's not entirely fair. While I think it's overly slick, it's crafted well such as it is, with every component part having received great attention. It may be overdone, but Bennett is no slouch. The cast make the most of what they're given to work with. There's intelligence underlying all the construction here - would only that there were more care to let it be more impactful, more meaningful, more of its own self, or to just simply Be. Like its predecessor, 'We still steal the old way' struggles to make itself truly be felt, even in its moments of the most violence, dark story beats, or cheeky levity, and that's as much due to a lack of vibrancy as to its overbearing tack of fashion over function, sometimes overcooked indulgence over storytelling judiciousness. For that matter, it struggles with an uneven tone, and when one stops to consider The Plan as it is presented to us, it seems all too neat and clean, an invention of Movie Magic.
When all is said and done I think 'We still steal the old way' is pretty much on par with 'We still kill the old way,' but that sadly is not much of a compliment. Yes, there is entertainment value here, but it's the type to engage with passively, without thinking about very much; the more you do, the less esteem it can sustain. Is this enough? I suppose that's for each person to decide on their own. For my part I don't regret watching this, but I still think my time would have probably been better spent on something else. Oh well. Leave it for a lazy day when you're bored and don't want to totally get invested in something; there are worse ways to spend your time.
