Customer Reviews

Stander

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

So speaks Andre Stander the day after a massive riot in Johannesburg South Africa in which Stander as a police captain finds himself killing a Zulu man in a morally shattering encounter. This utter disillusionment with the police force and their responses to the Apartheid situation makes Stander withdraw emotionally and physically from the Riot Squad and eventually his challenge that the blacks are unduly mistreated leads him to break the white laws by initiating a string of bank robberies - not for money but for a bizarre sort of revenge.

Stander (Tom Jane) is good at what he does, both as a cop and as a criminal, but his clever bank heists eventually result in his being jailed where he finds two partners (David O'Hara and Dexter Fletcher) to join him in escape and in one of the longest bank robbery sprees in the history of South Africa. Stander remains conflicted: he loves his new wife Bekkie (Deborah Kara Unger), he knows what he is doing is wrong, but the money is often shared with the blacks of Johannesburg, and he is driven to leave South Africa to eventually locate in Lauderdale, Florida. The eventual results of this man's career bring this film to a close in an action packed yet very soulful way.

The film, as written by Bima Stagg and directed by Bronwen Hughes, captures the atmosphere of the era in South Africa, and gives us a realistic look at the plight of the Africans in the Apartheid, offering insights to both sides of the conflict like few others have in film. He coaxes fine performances from his large cast of actors and extras, making this film less an action thriller than a character study of the enigmatic Andre Stander.

The true star of this film, a film that deserves far more attention than it has been given, is Tom Jane. Jane is a strong actor, able to take on language accents with the best of them, and able to make us understand the spectrum of personality in this fascinating character. There are many scenes in which he plays in full nudity, quite apropos to the story, but just an indication of his commitment to 'fleshing out' of his role. He is an actor to watch, an actor unafraid of tough roles in contrast to the showy Hollywood star parts. Grady Harp, December 2004

I watched this recently on DVD in South Africa - it is frighteningly realistic - the accents, cars etc etc. This is the TRUE story of the Andre Stander legacy - I remember him and his gang being in the news all the time - each time getting more and more adventurous. Get it - watch it - great movie as well as being factually correct - 90% of the time.

I had never heard of this movie but saw a program on Court TV about the real story of Andre Stander. I then found out that Thomas Jane had made a movie about it and thought I would check it out. This was a very good movie. I enjoyed it very much. Thomas Jane was excellent as was the rest of the cast. It is a very interesting story that is made even more interesting because it is true. It has political insight into the South African culture and also has a lot of action.

Check this movie out!

Stander was one of the least watched and most amazing films of the year. Tom Jane gives a startling, heart ripping, pulse pounding portrayal of outlaw Andre Stander. Stander was the notorious Johannesburg police officer shocked and revolted by what he witnessed as an officer in apartheid driven South Africa. To prove what's wrong Stander embarks on a career of crime - bank robberies to be specific, and he finds he's good at it. Very good indeed.

Though we know what he's doing is inherently wrong, one cannot not route for Stander as he and his gang become more and more daring and flamboyant with their bank heists.

The supporting cast is up to the challenge and Deborah Kara Unger gives a standout performance as Stander's much put-upon wife whom he never stops loving.

Rare is the film that combines such strong social and political commentary with rip-roaring action adventure. This is a truly remarkable effort from director Bronwyn Hughes who'd previously given us fluff like "Harriet the Spy" and the Ben Affleck challenged "Forces of Nature." If she makes more films like "Stander" - she could be collecting gold statuettes.

the film was based on the true life story of Andre Stander (Tom Jane) who is a white South African police officer in Johannesberg who has a great career and a beautifull wife (Deborah Unger). But soon after a riot that endes up with the killing of some unarmed black civilians and violence happens, he is shocked by the events that just took place and then decides to break the law by becoming a bank robber and goes against the system, so the film shows us how sucsesful he was and how he managed to escape untill he gets imprisoned where he meets two friends who then break out of prison and eventually become partners in crime.

What I liked about this film was the exciting way the film was shot, some of the action scenes were great including a car chase that was hard to believe considering that it was based on a true event. The drama takes place during a difficult time in South Africa where racial upheavel would take place in the late 70's and soon Andre had become a notorious criminal and a wanted man that robbed almost 40 banks wearing various disguises. I think that Tom Jane did a great job portraying this character and made this film more compeling to watch so I deffinently recommend that you buy this or at least rent it.

there is just something about a cop who does bad things that just seems so true. at least this dude ain't trying to hide the fact that he is scandelous. this movie surprised me. at first i thought it was just gonna be another cheesy action flick, but once the storyline started to pick up, you really feel as if it was happening. from the time where tom jane shot that man who was running at him and all the way through, it was just a great set of action sequences placed together. it is definately worth a look for anyone who likes to see the robber's side of the story.

Well I live in Montreal, and I had to wait 4 months for this film to get to my one and local theatre. This movie is the true story based on the legend of Andre Stander (Thomas Jane) and his memembers of the Stander bank robbing gang. Andre is a normal man like you and I living the life as a cop. But times are getting harder and harder for Andre with all the warefforts he must complete in Africa. He then realizes why arrest the bad guys while you can be one, and goes on a rampage of bank roberys with great skill. This film was made for a certain audience and they will enjoy it. The acting by Thomas Jane is briliant and I personaly think he should be nominated for something in this film. Well now all I jsut wanna know is were can I find that crazy theme song they have for the movie...its like the theme from the first Driver video game its great anyways ur going to love this movie. BUY IT!

This movie wasn't promoted a lot, and of course not a lot of people saw it or even rent it, but I asure, it's a great movie. It's based on a true story of the life of Andre Stander. South African police who saw corruption and decided to turn Bank robber to prove it. The problem is that he got too much into it. I'm not familiar with the casts, but it's a great performance from all. I will recomand this movie for those who like true life story. Again, Good story, good performance, lots of actions and emotional ending.

This film was only shown about half a dozen times in obscure places over the country, but from what I've heard it looks to be the underground hit of the year. It's amazing how little buzz was recieved, but it's finally coming to DVD in December, just as King Arthur comes out too.

The movie is about a guy named John Stander, played by the underrated Thomas Jane who seems to have the worst luck in getting decent acting roles. He is a South African cop, who is fed up with the brutality of police towards a revolution. So therefore, he decides to go into crime, and becomes one of the most successful bank robbers in history. As quirky a plot as this may seem, it's supposedly all a true story.

I don't know any technical details yet about the DVD itself, but it's only a couple of months away. Anyway, check this out. It's promising to be a big underground sucess.

The fact that this DVD film, featuring Thomas Jane, is based on true events, makes it even better. A disillusioned ex-policeman in Africa, Jane turns from a 'rising star' on the local police force to a 'star' criminal--bank robber.

It is convoluted but in a sleek way!