‘How to Rob a Bank’ Cracks Open With a Split Verdict From Critics as Rotten Tomatoes Score is Revealed

David Leitch’s ‘How to Rob a Bank’ is about to hit theaters, and the first critical reactions to the heist thriller are arriving just ahead of opening day. The film marks the director’s latest swing at big-studio action after ‘John Wick’, ‘Deadpool 2’, ‘Bullet Train’ and ‘The Fall Guy’. It arrives with a lot of star power and a premise built for the social media age.

The story follows a crew of social media-savvy bank robbers who broadcast their daring heists, unaware that their growing viral fame has put them in the crosshairs of a veteran FBI agent and a brilliant software engineer. Nicholas Hoult leads the gang as Ryan, with Zoë Kravitz, Anna Sawai, Rhenzy Feliz and Pete Davidson in the ensemble. John C. Reilly plays veteran FBI agent West, and Christian Slater plays Verity Trust CEO Walton.

Now the early scores are in. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently sits at 50% on the Tomatometer, based on 20 reviews, while the Popcornmeter has not yet posted a score. That makes for a genuinely mixed opening, and with the sample still small, the number could move once more critics weigh in.

The reviews I could find lean friendlier than a 50% might suggest. UPI called the film a fun, slight rebellion, arguing that it is vastly oversimplified but delivers a satisfying catharsis as an update of the outlaw-gang formula for modern technology and social injustice. The same review noted the irony of one of the wealthiest corporations in the world releasing a movie about sticking it to corrupt institutions, since Amazon MGM Studios is the distributor.

MovieWeb was warmer still, rating story at 3.5 and giving performances, execution and entertainment value 4, 4 and 4.5, and calling it a guaranteed good time at the movies. It described the action as grounded and visceral, and compared the film to a version of ‘John Wick’ in which the hero becomes a Robin Hood-style robber with a social media following. Both outlets also pointed to the same weak spot: the political message is simplistic, and the anti-capitalist rhetoric is not subtle.

That tension between satire and spectacle appears to be intentional. Leitch said in an interview with Complex that the story “gets grounded when you really understand their motivations.” He framed the question for viewers as how far they would go if that sort of trauma happened in their own lives.

Promotional material for the film points the same way. Leitch has described the appeal not as the mechanics of a robbery but as what it means when robbing a bank starts to sound like a reasonable plan. The marketing has leaned into that idea with trailers styled like old-school tutorial videos mixed with high-octane action.

The film’s path to theaters has not been entirely smooth. It was originally slated for early September, with outlets reporting either Sept. 4 or Sept. 9, before Amazon MGM Studios pushed it back by more than 2 months to a holiday-season date. The studio has not publicly explained the shift in the coverage I found.

The finished movie runs 2 hours and 2 minutes and is rated R for language, some violence and brief drug use. It also faces a crowded weekend, with other new releases such as ‘Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol’ opening the same day.

Who’s robbing who? How To Rob A Bank – only in theaters September 4. https://t.co/KAlmI8LsZp

— Amazon MGM Studios (@AmazonMGMStudio) June 2, 2026

An early Tomatometer score is a snapshot rather than a verdict. A film that divides critics can still win over audiences, especially a crowd-pleasing action caper with a cast like this one, and the Popcornmeter will show how general moviegoers respond.

For now, the picture is a mixed critical start with fans of Leitch’s style seemingly more likely to enjoy the ride than critics hunting for subtlety. Whether the score climbs or slips may depend on how many of the remaining reviews side with the enthusiastic ones.

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