The Channel: Review

15th July 2023

The heist genre has been a staple in movies since The Great Train Robbery in 1903. It’s been part of movies for so long that its clichés have clichés. While there are a lot of really good heist movies out there like Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Inside Man, The Italian Job (1969), and others, The Channel is not one of them—which is unfortunate because it has a lot of promise, but gets blinded by its weight and ambitions.

Written and directed by William Kaufman (The Brave, Daylight’s End), The Channel—which refers to the Irish Channel, a neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana — follows a smash-and-grab bank heist gone wrong and two ex-marine brothers Jamie and Mick, played by Clayne Crawford (The Integrity of Joseph Chambers, The Killing of Two Lovers) and Max Martini (Fifty Shades of Grey, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi), respectively, are on the run from police and federal agents led by Special Agent Frank Ross, played by Nicoye Banks (The Gods 2: The Dark Side, The Walk). Although the premise is admirable, the ambition is surpassed by talent and budget.

It’s pretty standard fanfare in the bank heist gone wrong sub-genre, The Channel has some entertainment value as a b-movie action film. However, it completely wears its inspirations on its sleeve. And while just about all movies are inspired by other movies, this reviewer would enjoy watching said inspirations more than watching this movie any day.

If you watch The Channel, then you can clearly see that Kaufman was inspired by movies like Reservoir Dogs, Heat, Den of Thieves, 21 Bridges, and especially The Town. But the movie doesn’t seem to do anything with those genre elements, but rather just re-creates them with a different cast and a lower budget. It feels like a cover song instead of a hit song.

The Channel just feels really small instead of a city-wide manhunt. For example: Jamie and Mick spend most of the movie running from law enforcement. The film keeps telling us that this is a big city-wide search that makes national news. However, it only seems like maybe six law enforcement officers are in hot pursuit of the brothers and maybe four or five police cars are searching the entire city of New Orleans. The film tells us it’s a big manhunt, but on-screen, it looks small.

Overall, The Channel has some genre thrills and heavy action, but it just feels so repetitive and dull. There’s nothing new here, while the film suffers from a lack of momentum and oomph. Instead there’s just a bunch of character and story clichés that might have felt worthwhile in better hands. And really, just watch the movies The Channel was inspired by instead, it will be more rewarding and thrilling.

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