2001, 1 hr 50 min., Rated R for language and some violence.�Dir: David Mamet. Cast: Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Rebecca Pidgeon, Delroy Lindo, Ricky Jay, Sam Rockwell.

The most important point of a caper movie is The Coolness Factor: How they pull of the heists, how the characters act, how they talk, etc. The Coolness Factor is so important because just about every caper flick is the same, with a guy on the verge of retirement out for one more big score, and Heist is no different than say, The Score from earlier this year.

PLOT: Hackman is the coolest cat in the thiefdom, so cool that, "When he goes to bed, sheep count him." Married to a younger wife with bad hair (played by Rebecca Pidgeon, who looked and acted far better in The Spanish Prisoner) and views on life that may or may not jibe with her hubby, he�s set on retiring to the sea on his boat in Argentina. Bankroller Danny DeVito has other plans, though, and isn�t ready to let go of his prized criminal.

It's because of the Coolness Factor that I can give a passing grade to Gene Hackman and crew, despite the fact that I was tickled by the self-conscious acting and clumsy dialogue, as if the stars were playing a part (well, they are, but they're not supposed to look like they are). Seeing as how the film was directed by David Mamet (writer of Wag the Dog, Hannibal and The Untouchables, among many others you know), this was very disappointing. I expect him to at least give me something memorable afterwards.

The way they pulled off the stings, meaning their method of avoiding detection and tools used to get around security, was at least interesting, and provided the only tension and action in the picture.

Otherwise the characters stood around trying to talk like hip crooks, using words and phrases that not even Al Capone could follow.

The supporting cast is a big boost, as Hackman�s partners, Delroy Lindo and Ricky Jay provides much of the comical words and events. Lindo, the muscle of the group and the coolest of the bunch (isn�t it always the strong black man?), while Jay is Pinky, the lovable fuzz ball go-getter who gets the job done with a cool head no matter the situation.

Meanwhile, while DeVito could be given a passing grade in his role, Sam Rockwell as his nephew and instigator of many unfortunate events, is certainly no Ed Norton (comparing his role to Norton�s in The Score) and really should have given better lessons in being smarmy. With the holiday movie season upon us, there really is no reason to seek out Heist, so save it for a rental or dull night of TV on HBO next spring.

The verdict:

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