Review of Stolen (2012) by Timm S — 31 Jan 2015

In New Orleans, Will Montgomery (Nicolas Cage) and Vincent (Josh Lucas) are preparing for a heist, aided by Riley (Malin Åkerman), their getaway driver, and Hoyt (M.C. Gainey), a computer security expert. They are watched by FBI agent Tim Harland (Danny Huston), who knows that Will and Vincent have been casing a jewelry store for several weeks and plans to arrest them mid-crime.

Will and Vincent break into the neighboring toy store, blowing the adjacent wall. Harland gives them a few minutes before sending his agents into the jewelry store, but Will and Vincent are not there, having instead used the jewelry store to gain access to a bank. In the vault, Will collects $10 million in wrapped bills and drags away Vincent, who had been eying a stack of gold bars. They come across a janitor in a back alley. Vincent attempts to kill the man, but Will refuses, and Vincent accidentally shoots himself in the leg. As their escape van pulls up, Vincent gets in and tells the others to drive off, leaving Will stranded with the money and the FBI closing fast. After a car chase, Will is cornered in an abandoned building. Agents arrest him but find no evidence of the money.

Eight years later, Will is released from prison. He is taken back to New Orleans by Harland, believing that Will stashed the money before his arrest. He warns that he will be watching Will closely. Will returns to his daughter Alison (Sami Gayle), finding that she is struggling with abandonment issues. She refuses to let him talk to her, instead handing over a package addressed to him that was left there that morning. She goes off in a taxi, which has been shown to been trailing Will since his release.

Will goes to a nearby bar where Riley is working. As they talk, the package starts to ring. Will finds a cell phone inside, and the caller reveals himself as Vincent, the driver of the taxi, who now has kidnapped Alison, and he demands the $10 million from the heist within 12 hours. Vincent says he will be tracking Will via the phone and will make regular calls that Will must answer or Alison will die. Vincent drugs Alison and locks her in the taxi's trunk.

Will, aware that Harland's men are also following him, uses the Fat Tuesday celebration to escape. He purchases a second cell phone to redirect calls from the first, then plants the first phone on a leaving train to throw Vincent's tracking off. Will explains the situation to Harland, vowing that he burnt the $10 million just before he was arrested, and asks for help. Harland rejects this, showing that Vincent was reported dead a year prior, a burnt body identified by DNA.