King of Thieves: James Marsh’s film eschews from the usual in the sub-genre of septuagenaries misbehaving: instead of charming old men being funny, we get a collection of hardened, nasty crooks. They are charming by force of the cast, but the truth is they are all questionable characters, hard to care for. The story elements (the heist, the backstabbing, the investigation) are far from novel (beyond the fact this is inspired by true events); it is elegantly told, but it is hard to overcome the emotional distance. Michael Caine is fine as the mastermind of the heist, as is Jim Broadbent as his slightly psychopathic partner; Tom Courtenay and Michael Gambon add a bit of levity to the more decrepit members of the group. The film is generally competent below-the-line; editors Jinx Godfrey and Nick Moore keep the film smartly moving forward, mixing old footage of the cast to great effect.