The Art of the Steal
RADiUS-TWC | Release Date: March 14, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
13
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
New York PostLou LumenickMar 12, 2014
A thoroughly enjoyable caper that doesn’t outstay its welcome. Read full review
70
Village VoiceChris PackhamMar 11, 2014
The Art of the Steal doesn't advance the nerdy intertextuality that has distinguished ironic crime films since Guy Ritchie, but writer-director Jonathan Sobol knows the ropes. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMar 11, 2014
Enjoyable heist pic is more talk than action. Read full review
67
The PlaylistTodd GilchristMar 13, 2014
The Art of the Steal won’t trick audiences into thinking they’ve seen anything new, but it’s just clever enough to keep them distracted from realizing that they haven’t. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyMar 13, 2014
Buried underneath the movie’s many layers of pulp fluff and knucklehead comedy is a compelling take on why people are drawn to familiar, generic pleasures—self-aware caper comedies, for instance. Perhaps it’s buried too deeply for its own good. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsMar 13, 2014
What the movie crucially lacks is the clockwork complications that produce a payoff. Read full review
60
EmpireAngie ErrigoJun 16, 2014
Conventional to an almost eye-watering degree, this could have used a little more effort to subvert the genre - and a little more Terence Stamp. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghMar 14, 2014
For a film about art forgeries, The Art of the Steal is itself something of a forgery, a painstaking, brushstroke-by-brushstroke re-creation of masterworks dreamed up by better artists. And like a good forgery, it's enjoyable on the surface, but loses its charm a bit once you do some digging. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerMar 13, 2014
Matt Dillon and Kurt Russell may not make the most convincing half-brothers, but The Art of the Steal is a fairly amusing heist film with some sibling tension helping the story along. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMar 13, 2014
The actors give it punch, but in the grand scheme of caper comedies, The Art of the Steal is more breathlessly imitative than authentic. Read full review
50
VarietyJustin ChangMar 19, 2014
Once the script is done playing its belabored game of who’s who, it becomes a sleek and moderately clever exercise in narrative misdirection, with at least one or two twists sly enough to pull the wool over even an attentive viewer’s eyes, as the climactic rush of “gotcha!” flashbacks makes duly apparent Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniMar 14, 2014
An uneven, mildly amusing, and highly derivative flick featuring a wonderful, quirky cast as a crew of art thieves who run a complex scam on the art world, and on each other. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianMarc MohanMar 13, 2014
Sobol, directing his second feature, should have been able to prod this story to life, especially considering the cast he was provided. But everything proceeds in such an orderly fashion, right through the ostensibly 'twist' ending, that maintaining interest is a serious challenge. Read full review
50
The DissolveMike D'AngeloMar 13, 2014
The movie occasionally sputters to life thanks to the energetic contributions of various supporting players, including The Daily Show’s Jason Jones as an overly aggressive Interpol agent, and a little-known actor named Dax Ravina as a thug with an impressive knowledge of Georges Seurat. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 11, 2014
It’s like a low-budget, Canadian version of “Ocean’s 11,” with about half as many characters and about one-tenth the charm and style. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)James AdamsMar 11, 2014
As is often the case in these caper flicks, there’s too much plot for insufficient dramatic effect, and alert viewers will suss out where it’s all heading in the first five minutes. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDavid Lee DallasMar 11, 2014
An energetic but paper-thin genre exercise, filled with pleasant riffs on the standard heist flick, but ultimately lacking in payoff. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMar 13, 2014
Director Jonathan Sobol clearly understands the first rule of a good grift: misdirection. He packs his middling caper flick with so many known faces, it’s easy to miss all the other familiarities. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith UhlichMar 11, 2014
The film is made up of plundered parts from the "Oceans" series and "The Usual Suspects," and—like several of the forged tomes that figure in the plot — it’s a pale imitation. Read full review
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