No Surrender Cinema: Armored
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and that’s all the motivation that this crew of guards needs to rob their own job of millions of dollars. Will the heist go off without a hitch, or will unforeseen circumstances and one man’s conscience send things spiraling out of control? Let’s find out in this edition of No Surrender Cinema as I revisit one of the last action flicks released in the 2000’s, 2009’s Armored!
Ty Hackett (Columbus Short) is a down on his luck ex-military man trying to make ends meet, and the newest employee of Eagle Shield Security, headed by Duncan Ashcroft (the late, great Fred Ward, who sadly has minimal screen time here). The former soldier is having a rough time acclimating to civilian life, having to be the sole provider and caretaker of his younger brother Jimmy in the wake of his parents death. Jimmy’s not making things easier by being a bit of a problem child, and those issues combined with the impending foreclosure on their house means that Ty and Jimmy could be split up, with the latter being moved into foster care. Neither one of them want that to be the case, but aside from earning a steady paycheck at Eagle Shield, Ty is visibly struggling to make his situation better.
As fate would have it, Ty’s godfather Mike (Matt Dillon), who got him the job at Eagle Shield, lets Ty in on a way that he can make enough money to make his problems go away. Did Mike put in a good word for Ty to get him some overtime shifts? Is he going to float him a loan, since he’s his godfather after all? Neither. It turns out that Mike is trying to be more like The Godfather instead of Ty’s godfather, because he’s giving him an offer he can’t refuse; join in on Mike’s plan to rob an upcoming transport of $42 million in cash from the Federal Reserve. Ty is incredulous at first, not ready to believe that Mike would sink to such levels, but once he realizes the gravity of his current situation, he reluctantly agrees to join in under the condition that nobody gets hurt. Mike gives his word that nothing bad will happen to anyone, and pretty soon they’ll be living the sweet life with the money that they swipe. Of course, when someone says “nobody will get hurt”, you know that the exact opposite is about to happen.
The day of the heist comes, and joining Mike and Ty are Mike’s brother in law Baines (Laurence Fishburne), the devoutly religious Palmer (Amaury Nolasco), skittish Dobbs (Skeet Ulrich), and gruff Quinn (Jean Reno). $42 million split six ways is still a hell of a lot of money for each man. Unfortunately for Ty, he should have trusted his instincts, because when the gang gets to their hiding spot (an abandoned steel mill) a squatter witnesses them stashing the money. A chase ensues, and before you know it, the bum is shot by both Baines and Mike, putting blood on everyone’s hands. Now that the shit has hit the fan, Ty snaps out of his delusion that this heist might be a good idea and goes on the defensive. Locking himself inside of one of the armored cars (which also contains half of the money), Ty tries to figure out how he’s going to get out of this predicament.
Fortunately for Ty, a deputy nearby hears the truck alarm (set off by Ty to draw attention to the site) going off and comes to check things out. His run-in with the group goes about as well as the homeless man’s did earlier, because his arrival gets him shot by Baines. Ty rushes to the man’s aid before he bleeds out and gets him back inside the vehicle before anyone can get to them. The situation deteriorates further when the rest of the heist crew start to lose any sense of reason they may have had earlier. Ty nearly gets one member to see the error of his ways before he meets an untimely death, and another member of the crew decides they’d rather die than live with what they’ve done. In the end, after things get even more personal when Quinn takes Jimmy as a hostage for the crew, it all comes down to Ty and the man he trusted the most, his own godfather, in a fight for survival.
Even though I hadn’t watched it in several years before re-watching as a refresher for this review, I had pretty much the entire film committed to memory. Part of that is probably because the film was running on a near daily basis around the time I had just settled into a new apartment, and it was a movie I probably watched 20 times in a 6 month span just because I’d keep it on in the background while I was doing things at home. The other thing is that Armored doesn’t try to be too cute or slick; it’s just a straight up action film that keeps pressing forward and doesn’t let up until the credits roll. While I can’t say that there’s any one particular scene or stunt that truly stands out, it’s a fun flick enhanced by the ensemble cast. Columbus Short was best known for films like Stomp The Yard, but he did well as the in over his head action hero, and being flanked by veterans like Dillon, Fishburne, and Reno certainly didn’t hurt things.
One thing that I really liked about Armored was the depiction of how easily it is to become swayed in the face of adversity. This wasn’t the Fast & Furious crew, or the suave, stylish gang of thieves from Takers (which came out less than a year after this film and also featured Dillon in a major role). This was a pack of everymen trying to get ahead and proving that money can poison even the purest minds. We’re rooting for Ty Hackett because he’s been fed a shit sandwich for the past few years, and now he’s got his own godfather trying to kill him. He’s relatable because hero or not, he’s flawed, but he quickly realizes the error of his ways. How it ends for him depends on what lengths he’s willing to go to to get to safety, even if it means going up against a man who swore to watch over him.
Armored is currently streaming for free on Tubi, and is available for under $10 on Blu-ray on a double bill with the aforementioned Takers. If you’re in the mood for a thriller full of familiar faces and a plot that’s as easy as 1-2-3 to follow, then this is the film for you. This may not be the most memorable film that any of these actors made, but it’s still one that I’ve enjoyed watching more than a few times over the years. If you’re in the mood for 90 minutes of nonstop action, I can promise you that Armored does not disappoint.
