Earlier this year, audiences witnessed Bruce Willis being a lazy actor in Precious Cargo – he talked on a cell phone and barely moved out of his seat.  In Marauders, the action star is at least doing more with his role (hey, walking counts), but the film itself receives the same faint praise I halfheartedly awarded Precious Cargo in April.

Marauders, a crime story surrounding a number of heists, is a run-of-the-mill thriller.  It could trade places with half of the crime shows on television, and no one would notice a difference.  However, if that’s your “thing”, you’ll be entertained by Marauders.  You’ll even be impressed with a few of the surprises Michael Cody and Chris Sivertson’s screenplay throws your way before the story gets too carried away with a final reveal.

I was impressed with director Steven C. Miller’s ability to shoot robberies while also injecting horror into the intensity.  The frightening crooks all wear battered headpieces that hardly allow for ventilation.  They don’t speak, which means all of their threats and demands are announced by a pre-recorded computerized female voice that sends a cold shiver down our spines.  The menacing confrontations are brutal and bloody, but these bursts of suspense add to the lingering fear occurring during these hold-ups.

I wish Marauders was more concentrated on these panicked scenarios (ala Spike Lee’s Inside Man), and tighter altogether.  The other side of the story is far less interesting and original.  Investing FBI agents exchange rote dialogue and attitudes, all while lead by a hotheaded performance by Christopher Meloni who tries to hold his scenes together with gruff manner.

Marauders doesn’t have much heft to it, but it checks off all the necessary requirements to satisfy crime junkies.  Take the compliment and run, movie.

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie