Review: Matt Mungle @themungle


Kidnapping Mr. Heineken is a gritty crime caper snatched from true events. It tells the real life story of a group of young men who scored the largest ransom in history; but it came with a price. Beer tycoon Alfred "Freddy" Heineken (Anthony Hopkins) may have brought a huge sum of money but the men who took him, led by Willem Holleeder (Sam Worthington), had no idea what trouble awaited them. Problems that no amount of cash could reconcile.

The story unfolds in the Netherlands during the winter of 1983. Holleeder and his best buds Cor van Hout (Jim Sturgess), Jan Boelaard (Ryan Kwanten), Frans Meijer (Mark van Eeuwen), and Martin Erkamps (Thomas Cocquerel) decide that the easiest way to make some money for their struggling families was to nab the richest dude in town. A plan that looked great on paper but translated to reality a bit differently.

The film does a solid job of capturing the mood, tone and moral of the struggling class in the early 80s. These were not master mind criminals. In truth they were some pretty decent blokes who hatched a plan after one too many pints at the local pub. You understand their plight and feel for them as you see things, especially their tight friendship, start to unravel. Worthington and crew wore the stress on their faces and it helped ground the characters.

Hopkins had a pretty easy role in the fact that he mainly stayed in makeshift holding room while the kidnappers awaited payment. He has some decent lines and he delivered them like the thousands in the past. He could have done this in his sleep but does manage to connect with the script when the camera pans to him. Mr. Heineken's driver Ab Doderer was kidnapped along with "Freddy". This role was one of the better in regards to emotional character development. David Dencik does a splendid job as a man trying to stay calm and not give in to the fear and panic of the situation. The conversations between Doderer and Heineken as the sit trapped across the hall from one another are some of the better in the film.

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken is rated R for language throughout. It is an adult film and one that has worthwhile action and good dialogue. It was interesting to see the story unfold. Many are probably unfamiliar with these events so as a whole it was intriguing. I give it 3 out of 5 money bags. Not ground breaking or highly entertaining but a solid film for the genre.


2015 Mungleshow Productions. All rights reserved.

95 min | Action, Crime, Drama