Hi there, loyal fans! This week I’m reviewing an older deep cut, which I know about because I went through a sizable Criminal Minds phase in high school when I was completely in love with Dr. Spencer Reid. Fortunately, the actor that plays him is super weird, so one of the movies that I watched for a hot dude in 2016 is a Deep Cut! Who knew? I re-watched Band of Robbers this week, and here’s my take.

Band of Robbers, directed by Aaron and Adam Nee, is a modern retelling of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In this version, Huck Finn (Kyle Gallner) and Tom Sawyer (Adam Nee) are all grown up, total scamps, and still obsessed with finding Murrell’s Treasure. The story starts out with Huck fresh out of jail, while Tom is a cop with high aspirations who’s bad at his job. Tom’s real passion is treasure-hunting, and he ropes in Huck as well as his friends Joe (Matthew Gray Gubler, aka Reid) and Ben (Hannibal Burress) to help him mount one last search for the fabled treasure. I’ll say no more.

Overall, I’d say that this movie is worth the watch, and here’s why. Stylistically, Band of Robbers is pretty Wes Anderson-esque. This style works because of the fairy-tale-like plot and cast of characters. However, the editing is not quite as whimsical as one of Anderson’s movies, and the movie is able to take on a darker tone whilst always maintaining a measure of theatricality that I think works. The story is divided into chapters, which I always love, especially since this movie is based on a book. The characters are fun, if a bit one-dimensional.

The film is far from perfect, especially considering the fact that it’s based on one of the “classic western novels,” and is quite slow-moving at times. Especially for a plot as exciting as a treasure hunt, I would’ve expected this movie to be more attention-grabbing, but I definitely felt my mind slip on more than one occasion. That being said, it’s a solid movie. I don’t have much else to say, which I feel is a good thing. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it, but it gave what it promised, and for me that was an hour and a half of watching some random dudes gallivant around, one of whom was Reid from Criminal Minds.