michael bay's pursuit of an emotional hyperreality finds its footing at last, in a film that's smarter than it has any right to be and deeply reverent of its direct inspirations. was the "alley-oop" scene shot at the same on-ramp as To Live and Die in LA (coming after a chase sequence invoking Terminator 2) or did I imagine that? this is a film enamored with the heist format and mercifully dumb enough to avoid becoming self-conscious about that.

the drone footage in this film is insane and I have to assume the flashier parts of The Insider were on the moodboard.

good god how refreshing it is to watch a movie where cameras are simply aimed at physical objects and people in the world. there are some glaring CGI shots but they are few and far between

the last third sorta deflates in predictable "mainstream hollywood action film" ways, but not enough to detract from the film's (myriad) peaks