TL;DR – This is a film that should have been right up my alley, yet I struggled to be engaged at any point in time.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this film.

Masterplan Review Introduction

Sometimes, all you need to get hooked on a film is its premise. Today’s film is “Stanley Tucci wants to steal the Mona Lisa”. You had me with that one line. That was all you needed to suck me into your film’s premise. But if you are going to capture me, you better deliver on your promise.

So, to set the scene, Jay (Victor Belmondo) and Chiara (Simona Tabasco) are criminals for hire. Jay is an explosives expert, and Chiara is a hacker. One day, they are hired by the eccentric businessman Roger (Stanley Tucci) to break into his own house. For, you see, this is all a test. Also, they’re supposedly his long-lost children, but I digress. Two children who are thieves, a long-lost father who is a thief, and a deal they can’t say no to. Steal the Mona Lisa.

I Could Not Connect

On paper, this is a film that was almost written just for me. Stanley Tucci glitzing up the screen, a heist of a national treasure thanks to history, glamorous locations, subterfuge, heists, betrayals, betrayals on betrayals, and more. However, just because something works on paper does not mean that the final production will come together, and if there has ever been a case study for such a film, it would be Masterplan.

Many factors work against the movie; for example, how hard it goes with the secret family aspect right from the start in such a way that you know it’s all a ruse, but then they still walk through the awkward adult sibling dynamic of Jay and Chiara. The heist itself is actually quite bland; they go for big personalities, but unless you are Nick Cage in National Treasure fully committing to the bit, it just feels like a cover for a story that does not quite work. Add to this some of the roughest dialogue that I have seen or heard this year, and I thought yesterday’s The Mongoose had that locked down. However, more than anything, other than that one fun moment when they play the French and Italians off each other, I never once cared for the characters or the heist. The film failed to make that connection, and it suffered immensely for it, because there was no wow moment, no gasp, and no intrigue.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Masterplan? Unfortunately, not. While this should work, all of the components clash together haphazardly. Not even a galivanting Stanley Tucci with a confused accent could save the proceedings. I am sure there was a good film in there somewhere, but all those writers could not find it, and I am sad that it was a big swing and a miss. It wants to be a fun romp, but becomes a bit of a slog.

Have you watched Masterplan? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Masterplan, we would recommend Fuze to you because it is a heist film that does make you care about all the different balls in motion, wondering what betrayal will come next.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Masterplan
Directed by – Thomas Vincent
Story by – Giacomo Durzi, Alessandro Fabbri, Alberto Vignati, David Wolstencroft, & Thomas Vincent
Screenplay by – David Wolstencroft, & Thomas Vincent
Music by – Polérik Rouvière
Cinematography by – Matteo Cocco
Edited by – Audrey Simonaud
Production/Distribution Companies – Gaumont, Gaumont S.r.l., MGM Amazon Studios, & Amazon Prime
Starring – Stanley Tucci, Victor Belmondo, & Simona Tabasco
With – Mark Ivanir, Philippe Uchan, Foëd Amara, Elisabeth Vitali, & Jonas Bachan
Rating – Australia: M;