Solidly made comic crime caper from Bullitt and Eddie Coyle director Peter Yates, adapted from a humourous Donald Westlake novel by William Goldman himself and starring Robert Redford at possibly his peak. There's really nothing wrong with this movie, everyone does everything right. I just don't particularly like comic capers movies that much.

Solidly made comic crime caper from Bullitt and Eddie Coyle director Peter Yates, adapted from a humourous Donald Westlake novel by William Goldman himself and starring Robert Redford at possibly his peak. There's really nothing wrong with this movie, everyone does everything right. I just don't particularly like comic capers movies that much.

Peter Yates low key tone suits this amiable caper film quiet well. The Hot Rock never oversells its absurdist plot which makes the film’s charms much more effective. Yates compositions have a dynamic that certain help add tension to some rather simple action drquences. Unlike Westlake’s original novel this does loses energy eventually, it probably has one caper too many but there’s some good romp till there.

Best Westlake/Dortmunder adaptation ever. And @flashgparks, you should really find that soundtrack.

An entertaining "let's steal a massive diamond" story, where the theft doesn't quite go right and so the diamond has to be restolen. Silly story, but great fun.

I liked the repetition idea in this movie. Entertaining throughout

Enjoyable heist caper.

A few hilariously great scenes surrounded by some lazy film making. Overlong and flat, these classic characters are uneven and misrepresented, much like the ending. Redford makes for a pretty crappy Dortmunder.

Passable caper film in which Robert Redford plays a put-upon thief who gets caught up with heisting an African diamond from a museum, leading to a series of complications. There’s more than likely a good amount of humour and pathos in Donald Westlake’s book, which this film is based on, that doesn’t come across here. It also might have benefitted from a lesser known lead—Redford is good, but brings the film a step up from the gritty thriller it could have been.