Band of Robbers is a 2015 American crime comedy film written and directed by brothers Aaron and Adam Nee, based on Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It stars Kyle Gallner as Huck Finn and Adam Nee as Tom Sawyer. Matthew Gray Gubler, Melissa Benoist, Daniel Edward Mora, Eric Christian Olsen, Hannibal Buress, and Stephen Lang also star.
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.
Band of Robbers premiered at the 2015 LA Film Festival, and received a limited theatrical release in the United States on January 15, 2016, by Gravitas Ventures.
Contents
Plot
When a man named Huck Finn is released from jail he is greeted by his lifelong friend, Tom Sawyer, now an underachieving cop who just cannot 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, 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 does not 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 as Huck Finn
Gabriel Bateman as Young Huck
Adam Nee as Tom Sawyer
Willem Miller as Young Tom
Matthew Gray Gubler as Joe Harper
Hannibal Buress as Ben Rogers
Melissa Benoist as Officer Becky Thatcher
Daniel Edward Mora as Jorge Jimenez aka Jim
Stephen Lang as Injun Joe
Eric Christian Olsen as Det. Sid Sawyer
Johnny Pemberton as Tommy Barnes
Beth Grant as Widow Douglas
Cooper Huckabee as Muff Potter
Lee Garlington as Lt. Polly
Creed Bratton as Dobbins
Josh Harp as Packard
Jack Wallace as Doc Robinson
Maria Blasucci as Amy Lawrence
Brian Sacca as Det. Temple
Jeff Newburg as Pap Finn
Release
The world premiere of Band of Robbers was held at the 2015 LA Film Festival on June 13, 2015. The film was picked up for distribution by Gravitas Ventures, 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, Variety, and The Cleveland Plain Dealer. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 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, particularly Bottle Rocket, and the Coen brothers.
It won the Director's Choice Award at the Naples International Film Festival.