Plot: A typical workday at a London pension fund investment company, Lochmill Capital, is upended when a gang of violent thieves bursts in and forces Zara and her best mate Luke to execute their demands. But who would steal billions of pounds of ordinary people’s pensions and why? DCI Rhys is determined to find out, but as a recently relapsed gambling addict, Rhys must keep his own money problems at bay while dealing with the secret agendas and competing interests at the centre of this far-reaching crime.
Review: The antiquated concept of bank heists has complicated filmmaking and television production. For decades, the idea of masked gunmen storming a bank to steal bags of cash has been a staple of crime stories on screen. Technology has further complicated matters by limiting the physical dollars on site at various locations. That means thieves have to become more savvy and hack their way into the world of online finance. The risk is higher, but so is the potential reward. The new Prime Video series Steal, starring Sophie Turner and Archie Madekwe, takes the concept of a high-stakes digital heist of an investment firm and pairs it with a healthy dose of twists, blurring the lines between good and bad, right and wrong.
The six-episode series opens with the execution of a master plan to rob an investment company in the heart of London. Best friends and coworkers Zara (Sophie Turner) and Luke (Archie Madekwe) are working a normal day at the office when a crew bursts in and holds the entire company hostage. The perfectly timed and plotted robbery takes mere minutes as the thieves have every conceivable turn covered and have no fear in taking the lives of those who get in their way. Both Zara and Luke are stuck in the middle of a plot that sees billions in funds from pensions and investment accounts liquidated in moments, before the armed criminals are gone just as quickly as they arrived. In the immediate aftermath, DCI Rhys (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) questions the various hostages to track down those responsible and begins to question how such a meticulous plot could have taken place.
What unfolds over the next five episodes is a lot of threads knotted and twisted through the season’s narrative. British programming has been excellent at delivering tightly plotted stories in limited episodes for decades, with North America only getting on board in the age of cable and streaming. Because the story at the core of Steal could have worked as a feature film, the narrative avoids the trappings of watered-down or padded programs that run twice or even three times as many chapters. By the end of the first episode, the audience is forced to reevaluate who they think are the good guys and who are the real villains of the piece, while still understanding the nuanced, layered existence of these characters as people. The heist crew and their associated criminal acquaintances often feel like they are pulled from a number of other stock villains from dozens of other shows, but the main characters here are very well designed and are much more than the sum of their parts.
Sophie Turner, best known for her roles in Game of Thrones and as Jean Grey in the X-Men film franchise, has a solid grasp of portraying Zara. As a character who knows and is capable of more than meets the eye, Turner gives her performance a balance of strength and innocence that often allows everyone around her to gloss over what she is capable of. Turner gave a similarly layered performance in the limited series Joan and gets to work her dramatic talents in this series. Archie Madekwe, a scene-stealer in the AppleTV series See as well as the films Gran Turismo, Saltburn, and Lurker, plays Luke as a character way over his head. Luke is as capable as Zara, but his journey to understanding that takes a bit longer. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd plays DCI Rhys as the seminal investigator, but his character’s debts and addictive personality add another layer to the mix as the series unfolds. The three leads work well with a dynamic chemistry that helps propel the series forward through the six hour-long chapters.
Steal comes from creator Sotiris Nikias, whose previous effort was as writer on the film Cafe 404. Nikias has a grasp of weaving the series’s intense main plot without many distractions or unnecessary red herrings. The series does boast multiple misdirects that I feel many viewers will see coming, but the overall story remains on track through the solid finale that pulls everything together in an action-heavy conclusion. Directing duties are split between Hettie Macdonald (Doctor Who, Normal People) and Sam Miller (I May Destroy You, Black Mirror), who each helm three episodes. Like many London-set series, Steal makes great use of the iconic city skyline, even as much of the action is set in interiors that mask the locations. Lots of warehouses, offices, and living rooms keep the story contained, while scenes taking place within the investment company benefit from panoramic views of London. Everyone involved creatively gives the production a boost, amplifying the series’s cinematic quality as much as possible, but Steal still feels like a smaller-scale project.
Steal is an easy series to get into that does not overstay its welcome in the least. Fans of British dramas will recognise many of the supporting players, while those turning in because of Sophie Turner, Archie Madekwe, and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd will be treated to solid performances from all three. The twists in this series keep Steal from feeling stale or predictable, but they are not strong enough to truly distinguish it from every other heist or crime series on television. Steal is entertaining, and I liked it, but it is ultimately not so memorable to warrant a rewatch. Steal does give enough for the performances from all three stars to garner buzz for the projects they work on next. You won’t be disappointed by Steal if you give it a shot, but you won’t be blown away either.
Steal premieres on January 21st on Prime Video.
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Source:
JoBlo.com
