Director Dito Montiel`s period drama is set in the early 1980s and follows Chris (Hemsworth), a guy trying to become a police officer. When his application is rejected due to an earlier run-in with the law, Chris ends up in a security firm that transports cash. He ends up becoming the subject of an investigation by Detective James Ransome (Johnson) when the latter`s partner is killed during a heist, even as the opportunity arises for Chris to pull one of his own.
Ostensibly based on the biggest heist in North American history, Empire State has all the drudgery of objective facts, with none of its emotional core. We get that the execution of said heist was supposed to be amateurish, but depicting it onscreen without anything else compelling to drive the movie is dubious execution at best
As a result, the movie is a dull, slightly languid number that seems way longer than its 90-minute run-time, exacerbated by dubious casting and an over-investment in its gritty atmosphere. Hemsworth lacks the charisma to carry the role all on his lonesome, and ends up looking lost as a result, with Johnson`s few onscreen appearances being the only thing that make the film compelling.
That being said, Empire State has an authentically gritty atmosphere to it that thankfully has more to do with its aesthetics than the prodigious number of F*** bombs in its script. That`s not enough to recommend a movie that shows so much potential with its premise, but it does point towards how much better this crime caper could have been.
Summary: Criminally dull
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Raphael Lim