In "Dead Draw," four high-rollers carry out the robbing of a bank in which they have used insider information to clean out several safe deposit boxes filled with $25 million in cash. But a little problem arises when the thieves try to make their getaway.The four robbers have cleverly used the occasion of a military parade in a small Midwestern town to dress in fatigues and rob the bank. They have learned from a "deep throat" source that members of a drug cartel are using the bank in a pleasant rural area to stash their loot. Two of the thieves (Mack and Dallas) are brothers, one of whom took the fall and spent time in prison during an earlier heist. Another (Jones) is a military veteran with a checkered past and is prone to extreme violence. The ringleader (Harrison) is love with Sarah, the insider who provided him with details about the bank security system and the safe deposit boxes.One drawback of this film is the over-reliance on flashbacks to provide character details. Mack, who has just completed is prison term has now apparently discovered religion. But do we need to have a flashback confessional scene in a church to understand Mack's state of mind? The exposition about the previous heist was straightforward; do we need to see that past event re-enacted? Mack's younger brother was apparently a good boxer. It might have added some much needed action to the flashbacks to see him in the ring. But that never happened.The film developed some good suspense in piquing the audience's interest in who "sold out" the thieves and prevented their exit from town by plane. The resolution was also nifty in drawing upon a well-meaning secondary character who messed things up for the robbers. The characters were generally unlikable, but one interesting theme that emerged that may be summed up in one line: "You can't run from your past." In this regard, all of those flashbacks demonstrated how true that adage was for a group of losers.

The premise of this revolves around a big cash heist committed by a gang of 4 guys with information provided by an information broker. Whilst looking like it goes off smoothly things subsequently don't go to plan. The story set-up seems solid, if nothing new. However, soon the movie revolves around being stuck in one physical location (one large indoor space) which makes it a bit boring. To compound this the movie then begins a flashback narrative on each character (more than one for each character), moving back to the present time and back again. This jars quickly as nearly 40-50% of the movie must in the end be composed of these flashbacks and it takes your focus and interest off the main story. It does redeem itself a bit at the end but I found that this mechanic was a fail for me and makes the movie a lesser product as a result.

On the surface, the premise of bank robbers falling out with each other as time pressure builds is not particularly original. Yet Dead Drop manages to bring something fresh to the genre. Well plotted and filmed, the pacing is excellent as flashbacks filling in the characters and tense action in the present time intersperse and blend well with each other. Dead Drop is well acted, each character believable and understandable. The music is appalling, so bad it must be deliberate; discordant, miserable, something to get away from, just like the participants and situation. Most of the scenes are extremely well shot and there is a lot of tension in some the scenes that are held for that extra moment. While nothing truly remarkable, Dead Drop is better than most and well worth the effort to see.

The story behind the movie. First film from director and writer, Brian Klemesrud, he was actually still working on the details of the script when he was to meet Gil Bellows about another movie being made, Mushroom Man. Unknown to Brian Gil had seen a copy of his draft for Dead Draw and he wanted Brian to make the movie and he would play the role of Harrison. Brian was still thinking it over when Gil contacted him and told him he needed to start shooting it in three months. They ended up shooting the movie in a total of 18 days after getting the money to fund it.The movie is about the heist of 25 million dollars from a bank, where specific safety deposit boxes are selected. Harrison (Gil Bellows) is their leader and it is his 19th heist and he said it would be his last one. Everything is well planned and executed and their getaway appears to be flawless then things go awry.Loyalties will be tested and secrets exposed, as they realize someone set them up and they seek an escape from an apparent trap. Time ticks away as they try to find out who the rat is while they seek an escape.It does have some surprises and might be predictable to some people but I do think it was entertaining and not bad for a first film where the director was rushed into it.