R | 2h 2m | Crime, Heist, Thriller, Action | 2026
In “How to Rob a Bank,” an anarchistic bank-heist crew out of Pittsburgh is headed up by Ryan (Nicholas Hoult). He’s known online as the mask-wearing “Wolf,” and he robs banks with panache. The team has built a massive cult following that includes, among others, bank security guards.
The role of Ryan is similar to the one Nicholas Hoult played in “The Order” (2024). There, Hoult played Bob Mathews, the real-life founder and charismatic leader of a 1980s domestic terrorist group—a deceptive zealot waging a violent insurgency against the U.S. government.
In “How to Rob a Bank,” Rumpled, craggy veteran FBI agent John (John C. Reilly) sets a thief to catch the thieves by “recruiting” (as in legally leaning on) ankle-monitored stoner-hacker—and former associate professor at Carnegie Mellon—Reagan Gardner (Zoë Kravitz). He hopes to catch the robbers red-handed before they rip off their final financial institution.
When John tells Reagan he was inspired to join the FBI by the movie “Point Break,” she tells him that she loves “Point Break” too, but it had the opposite effect; it made her want to rob banks.
Behind the Internet Curve
Directed by David Leitch (“Bullet Train”), “How to Rob a Bank” is flashy, has a fun cast, and offers the occasional burst of excitement, but keeps switching tones and thereby losing momentum. Essentially, the Wolf crew records themselves breaking into banks, brandishing weapons, demanding cash, and posting the goings-on online as instructional videos accompanied by to-do lists and catchy graphics.
It’s always challenging for anyone over 18 to portray social media accurately for far more media-savvy younger audiences. It seems internet culture has already evolved beyond the methods portrayed; kids would be using TikTok for clicks, while the crew still seems to be making YouTube clips.
The main issue with “How to Rob a Bank” is that Reilly and Kravitz, who admirably flesh out thinly written roles and have solid comedic chemistry together, are more interesting than the den of thieves, yet get dropped for long stretches between the action set-pieces. Mostly, they function as mouthpieces debating whether the robber-influencers are bold social revolutionaries or dangerous anarchists. Eventually, Christian Slater cameos as a soulless banker scapegoat.
The film’s imbalance between fun heist-hi-jinks and its Robin Hood message is a bit awkward. While Robin Hood fought to restore rightful order rather than overthrowing the monarchy, here, robbing the rich to give to the poor is intended to mirror modern socialist ideals of redistributing wealth to reduce inequality. While Robin Hood symbolized values like mutual aid and communal solidarity, the left likes to frame him as an early symbol of working-class struggles for social justice.
It Had Potential
“How to Rob a Bank” is a good-enough popcorn flick, since Leitch’s “John Wick” action background livens up the car chases, explosions, and random parkour instances. With its MTV-ish-ly short-attention-span-geared, satirical reimagining of how the Occupy Wall Street ethos might have evolved in the influencer era, it echoes fast-paced heist classics like “Set It Off” and “Point Break.”
“How to Rob a Bank” is meant to reflect our current hyper-disgruntled, hyper-online state politically. And while it clearly wants to be a rallying cry for social revolution via internet community-building, it ends up feeling more like a TikTok doom-scroll.
‘How to Rob a Bank’
Director: David Leitch
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, John C. Reilly, Zoë Kravitz, Pete Davidson
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 13, 2026
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
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