''Band of Robbers'' is a 2015 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

crime comedy Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

film written and directed by brothers

Aaron and Adam Nee Aaron and Adam Nee, sometimes referred to as the Nee brothers, are an American filmmaking duo best known for their feature films ''The Last Romantic'' (2006), '' Band of Robbers'' (2015), and '' The Lost City'' (2022). Collaborative history Alt ...

, based on

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the nov ...

'' and ''

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United St ...

''. In this modern-day retelling, the two iconic rascals are grown up and small-time crooks still searching for the fabled Murrell's treasure that has eluded them since childhood. The story draws heavily from Twain's classic novels, including characters, plot twists and even dialogue.

Plot

When

Huck Finn Huck may refer to: Characters * Huckleberry Finn, a character in four novels by Mark Twain * Huckleberry Hound, a cartoon character created by animation studio Hanna-Barbera * Huck, a character on ''Scandal (TV series), Scandal'' * Huck, a charac ...

is released from jail he is greeted by his lifelong friend,

Tom Sawyer Thomas Sawyer () is the titular character of the Mark Twain novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), ''Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and ''Tom Sawyer, Dete ...

, now an underachieving cop who just can't let go of their childhood dreams of wealth and glory. Tom convinces the reluctant Huck and their bumbling friends Joe Harper and Ben Rogers to rob a pawnshop where their friend and contact, the alcoholic vagrant Muff Potter, believes Injun Joe, a savage and murderous white career criminal who admires and appropriates

Native American culture Native American cultures across the United States are notable for their wide variety and diversity of lifestyles, regalia, art forms and beliefs. The culture of indigenous North America is usually defined by the concept of the Pre-Columbian ...

, has hidden Murrell's treasure. Tom explains that robbing bad guys makes them the good guys. Things get complicated when Tom's commander assigns him to train Becky Thatcher, an eager-to-please rookie partner, and the hung-over band of robbers' heist goes awry. But that doesn't stop Tom; instead, he leads the band on a wild treasure hunt from one mysterious clue to another. When Huck's friend, Mexican day laborer Jorge Jimenez, is mistaken as part of the band's activities and arrested, Huck and Tom, on the run from a vengeful Injun Joe and the police, lead the band on a mission to rescue him and be "heroes".

Cast

Kyle Gallner Kyle Steven Gallner (born October 22, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas in the television series ''Veronica Mars'', superhero Bart Allen in the drama series ''Smallville'' and Reed Garrett ...

as Huck Finn **

Gabriel Bateman Gabriel Michael Bateman (born September 10, 2004) is an American actor. He is best known for starring in numerous horror films, including as Robert in '' Annabelle'' (2014), Martin Wells in '' Lights Out'' (2016), Andy Barclay in '' Child's Play' ...

as Young Huck * Adam Nee as Tom Sawyer ** Willem Miller as Young Tom *

Matthew Gray Gubler Matthew Gray Gubler (, ; born March 9, 1980) is an American actor, filmmaker, fashion model, painter, illustrator, director, and author. He is best known for his role as criminal profiler Dr. Spencer Reid in the CBS television show ''Criminal Min ...

as Joe Harper *

Hannibal Buress Hannibal Amir Buress ( , born February 4, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, producer, rapper and writer. He started performing comedy in 2002 while attending Southern Illinois University. He starred on Adult Swim's ''The Eric Andre Show'' f ...

as Ben Rogers *

Melissa Benoist Melissa Marie Benoist ( ; born October 4, 1988) is an American actress, singer and producer. Her first major role was Marley Rose on the Fox musical comedy drama ''Glee'' (2012–2014), where she was a series regular during the fifth season. S ...

as Officer Becky Thatcher * Daniel Edward Mora as Jorge Jimenez aka Jim *

Stephen Lang Stephen Lang (born July 11, 1952) is an American actor. He is known for roles in films including '' Manhunter'' (1986), '' Gettysburg'', '' Tombstone'' (both 1993), '' Gods and Generals'' (2003), '' Public Enemies'' (2009), ''Conan the Barbaria ...

as Injun Joe *

Eric Christian Olsen Eric Christian Olsen (born May 31, 1977), is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Investigator Marty Deeks on the CBS television series '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', and of Austin in the film ''Not Another Teen Movie''. Early life O ...

as Det. Sid Sawyer *

Johnny Pemberton John deJarnette Pemberton III (born June 1, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, podcast host and streamer from Rochester, Minnesota. He is best known for his role as the titular ''Son of Zorn'' in the short-lived Fox sitcom, and has also appea ...

as Tommy Barnes *

Beth Grant Beth Grant (born September 18, 1949) is an American character actress. Between 2012 and 2017, she was a series regular on the television comedy ''The Mindy Project'' in the role of Beverly Janoszewski. She is also known for her role as Gracie L ...

as Widow Douglas *

Cooper Huckabee Thomas Cooper Huckabee (born May 8, 1951) is an American film and television actor who appeared in ''The Funhouse'', ''Urban Cowboy'', and as Harrison in the 1993 film '' Gettysburg'', among other roles. Career Huckabee played Buzz, one of the ...

as Muff Potter *

Lee Garlington Ann Leslie "Lee" Garlington (born July 20, 1953) is an American actress. Early life Garlington was born in Teaneck, New Jersey. She spent her teenage years in Wilmington, Delaware. Career She has guest starred in a number of notable television s ...

as Lt. Polly *

Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider, February 8, 1943) is an American actor, singer and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom ''T ...

as Dobbins * Josh Harp as Packard * Jack Wallace as Doc Robinson *

Maria Blasucci Maria Blasucci is an American actress and comedy writer. She is best known for roles in television shows including ''Family Tree'' on HBO and ''Ghost Ghirls'' on Yahoo Screen. Her basketball team is the subject of ''The Pistol Shrimps'', a docume ...

as Amy Lawrence * Brian Sacca as Det. Temple * Jeff Newburg as Pap Finn

Release

''Band of Robbers'' was picked up for distribution by

Gravitas Ventures Gravitas Ventures is an independent film distribution company owned by Anthem Sports and Entertainment. The company was founded by Nolan Gallagher in Los Angeles, California in 2006 and moved its headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio in 2019, where it f ...

and had a limited release on January 15, 2016 in theaters in 11 cities.

Reception

''Band of Robbers'' received generally positive reviews from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', and ''

The Cleveland Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

''. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 78% based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 6.51/10. It has drawn comparisons to the films of

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by so ...

, particularly ''

Bottle Rocket ''Bottle Rocket'' is a 1996 American crime comedy film directed by Wes Anderson in his feature film directorial debut. The film is written by Anderson and Owen Wilson and is based on Anderson's 1994 short film of the same name. ''Bottle Rocket' ...

'', and the

Coen brothers Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

. It won the Director's Choice Award at the Naples International Film Festival.

References

External links

* * {{The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 2015 films 2015 comedy films 2015 crime films 2015 independent films 2010s crime comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s heist films 2010s police comedy films American crime comedy films American heist films American independent films Films based on Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Films based on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Films based on multiple works of a series Films directed by Aaron and Adam Nee Films scored by Joel P. West Films with screenplays by Aaron and Adam Nee 2010s American films English-language crime comedy films English-language independent films