Parents' Guide to Righteous Thieves

What could have been a pretty solid heist story is thwarted by budgetary shortcomings, bits of awkward or confusing writing, and draggy direction that makes things feel like they're taking too long. Righteous Thieves does well in terms of its diverse cast and clear anti-Nazi sentiment, and it has a good spirit that sometimes helps scoot things along. But there are too many stumbling blocks, starting right at the beginning. The movie opens with a flashback in 1943, then cuts to 1985, where we meet a teen girl art thief who interacts with an older Jewish man. Then there's a dissolve, but the movie fails to let viewers know that we're now in the present day and that the teen girl has grown up to become Lisa Vidal. The name "Josef" is thrown around, even though we have no idea who that is. Similarly, we're introduced to the villain without anyone ever saying his name. The pacing is frequently off, with scenes stretching out past the breaking point and becoming cumbersome, especially in moments involving a clumsy romantic subplot between Eddie and Lucille. Perhaps the worst crime in Righteous Thieves, however, comes in the final scene, which will have art lovers blowing their tops.