Oct 18, 2026 10:14pm IST
‘Masterplan’ Review: Stanley Tucci Is the Only Thing That Makes This Forgettable Heist Film Work
Any movie where Stanley Tucci plays himself — a suave and dashing man in a stylish suit offering wisdom in an accent that is music to your ears — is an instant addition to people’s watchlists. And the makers of “Masterplan” understand this and capitalise on it in this watchable direct-to-digital release on Prime Video. The cross-Europe heist film is directed by Thomas Vincent, with a story by Giacomo Durzi, Alessandro Fabbri, Alberto Vignati, David Wolstencroft and Vincent and starring Simona Tabasco and Victor Belmondo alongside Tucci.
The heist in “Masterplan” is essentially a family affair. The film begins with two thieves successfully conducting heists in two different cities. Chiara (Tabasco) is an Italian cybercrime wizard who can virtually open any door. Jay (Belmondo) is a French explosives specialist and does with tools what Chiara can do with her tech. The two find themselves recruited for the same home robbery job in Italy, where they discover that their contractor, Roger Cavendish (Tucci), isn’t just a secretly famous thief but also their biological father.
Roger invites Chiara and Jay to join him for the heist of the century: Stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in Paris. He has even set up a buyer they could sell to without raising alarms. But first, this modern family must learn to work together without killing each other, even as unexpected twists and trust issues keep popping up.
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To be clear, “Masterplan” isn’t a bad movie. It gets the vibe, the color palette and even the background score right for a heist film set across major European capitals. Like most heist films, it wants to steal your logic, leave your disbelief suspended mid-air and get away with it on sheer euphoria of a job well executed. At several points in the film, genre fans might want to guffaw at how simplistic the film makes robbing the Louvre look, a supposedly impossible mission. Then again, considering the recent Louvre heist, maybe there’s more truth here than anticipated.
In one scene, the Mona Lisa, a painting removed from its usual display because the museum staff found its climate control system malfunctioning, is floating over the Parisian sky, fully exposed to the elements. In another scene, an underground tunnel critical to the heist is never explored before D-Day. It does create the moment of tension that such films thrive on, but it feels ridiculous that such a major heist hinges on so little prep work. The two twists that matter arrive much later in the film’s third act and they aren’t exactly a surprise considering the general nature of heist films.
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What Thomas Vincent’s (“Reacher,” “Bodyguard”) “Masterplan” then is, is mildly enjoyable in the moment but eventually forgettable. Its only X-factor is Stanley Tucci, who plays himself on screen as this charming Italian father figure telling two thieves that he believes in their ability to pull off a Louvre heist. And even you, the audience, are convinced to follow along. Both Belmondo and Tabasco have a fun banter going on for the reluctant siblings they play, which eventually settles down. The writers could’ve dared to make the sexual tension between their characters when they first meet a bit more of a hurdle, especially knowing how the film ends.
And finally, despite it going against Tucci’s character, the actor could’ve been given more action scenes to do. He has exhibited a flair for looking just as good brandishing a gun and beating up bad guys, as established by his prominent role in “Citadel” Season 2 that arrived earlier in the year. More Stanley Tucci is always a good idea, especially when you don’t have much else going for your film.
“Masterplan” is currently streaming on Prime Video.
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