Film Review: “Band of Robbers”
The triteness of everyday life dampens most people’s sense of adventure, but it never fully douses the innate, child-like longing for a life beyond the mundane. No author captures this better than Mark Twain with his stories of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and their misdeeds in the fictional town of Hannibal, Missouri.
In “Band of Robbers,” brothers Aaron and Adam Nee cleverly weave elements of the original Twain stories into their modern retelling, alluding to various characters (Sid, Becky Thatcher, Injun Joe) and story lines (legendary treasure hunt) without compromising their creative integrity. Adam also plays the daring and larger-than-life but overtly selfish Tom.
The film opens with a passage from “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” warning viewers that “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.” This immediately sets a refreshingly aesthetic tone, allowing viewers to sit back and enjoy the zany comedy without bending over backward to analyze the content.
But with all the fun and eccentricity, the film maintains a depth to it that surpasses throwaway Hollywood comedies. The Nee brothers successfully create a picture that is not only enjoyable but relatable, poking at the dreams and desires that don’t quite die with childhood.
After the wry warning, flashbacks of Tom and Huck (Kyle Gallner) searching for treasure as young boys play across the screen while an adult Huck narrates.
“He saw a world where we were just one adventure away from our problems disappearing forever,” he says, capturing the essence of Tom’s character and an innocent fantasy most adults keep carefully tucked away.
Years later, Huck is released from prison after committing a petty crime while Tom has become a cop who plays fast and loose with morals despite his desire to be a hero. Tom picks up Huck after his release in a police car, yet still fails to abide basic traffic laws and stay in his lane.
After ordering Huck to put everything behind him, they drive off in reverse, foreshadowing the fact that instead of moving toward a future of responsible adulthood, the pair will only repeat their mischievous, youthful antics. This juxtaposes seamlessly with Huck’s narration: “It just doesn’t seem to matter, knowing there’s a time you gotta let go, gotta grow up. Some things never change.”
Surely enough, Tom conspires to unite a “band of robbers” consisting of Huck and old friends Joe Harper (Matthew Gray Gubler), Tommy Barnes (Johnny Pemberton), and Ben Rogers (Hannibal Buress). All but Johnny take Tom’s oath, which he wrote using phrases from “old pirate books” and “the Old Testament.” The Nee Brother’s sharp humor is particularly evident in this scene, as Tom’s preachy speech is met with Johnny’s flustered claims that he assumed he was being recruited into Amway or something of the sort. Tom also tries to assure his friends of the oath’s legitimacy by implying her borrowed from Jesus. The entire film is brimming with amusingly sharp lines and unabashed digs at racial insensitivities.
Initially hesitant to engage in yet another one of Tom’s treasure-hunting schemes, Huck is eventually reeled in by Tom’s contagious enthusiasm for adventure and convincing appeal to lead a life that rejects mediocrity. The band of robbers devise an outlandish plan to hold up a pawn shop where Murrell the Bandit’s treasure is rumored to be stored, with Tom naturally ending up the hero of the story. However, all goes array when he is assigned a rookie partner, Becky Thatcher (Melissa Benoist), who is also the daughter of a judge.
Adam Nee is perfect as an adult Tom Sawyer, managing to capture the character’s charisma and enduring naivety despite the fact that he should be intensely disliked for his grandiose sense of purpose and selfish ploys at becoming a hero.
Gubler, who plays the young genius Spencer Reid on “Criminal Minds,” is impressive as the dim-witted but harmless Joe Harper. Perhaps the most child-like of all, Joe dresses in American-flag shorts, a yellow t-shirt, and a bandana while following Tom’s plans like a younger boy in awe of his older friend. In fact, while Tom declared his plans for the band of robbers and read aloud his oath, Gubler’s Joe raised his hand immediately, his jaw dropped in admiration. Even when he matter-of-factly suggests killing the family members of those who break the oath, viewers can still sense the underlying guilelessness of the character.
The Nee brothers masterfully create a film that viewers unfamiliar with the original books can enjoy just as much as the next die-hard Twain fan. With witty dialogue, as astute direction of mise-en-scène, and charming performances on behalf of the cast, “Band of Robbers” meets the challenge of modernizing a classic with grace and a breath of fresh air.
5/5 stars.
