The Hatton Garden Heist — A different kind of heist series

Review by C.J. Bunce

If you’re a fan of the heist genre you might not have noticed a British series starring BAFTA Award-winning actor Timothy Spall. It’s a limited four-episode historical crime drama called The Hatton Garden Heist, and it’s now streaming on BritBox via Prime Video. Initially slated for release in 2017, it was delayed to accommodate one of the defendant’s trials. Yes, it’s based on an actual crime, and it’s a standout subject because it embraces the “Old Man” trope–the men who worked the heist were in their 60s and 70s. It’s also reportedly the largest heist take in British history. The show brought forth some talented actors, but as for the heist genre it falls in many ways, mainly because it sticks to the facts. Crime does not pay, despite what you find in your typical heist romp. The heist was pulled off by an assemblage of guys who didn’t like each other because each was particularly unlikeable–at least that what the script delivers–and so the result is a story that lacks any element of fun.

In April 2015 over the Easter weekend bank holiday, six elderly men broke into a safe deposit box facility in Hatten Garden England, entering through an elevator/lift shaft and drilling into the vault. Four others were involved, but their stories weren’t included in the series. A value of 14 million British pounds in money and items were stolen, but ultimately only 4.3 million recovered.

Spall (Death Valley, the Harry Potter movies) plays Terry Perkins–the participant whose actual trial held up the film release. He’s shown as a bitter fellow who wants to complete one last job before calling it quits. And this is after he’d already been to prison once before. Mastermind of the job was 76-year-old Brian Reader played by Kenneth Cranham (Valkyrie, Young Indiana Jones Chronicles), a crook who plans his crimes down to the last detail. He’s also mean-spirited and unyielding, making it easy for the group to part ways when the first effort at the heist hits a snag.

Terry is chums with the clingy Danny Jones, played by David Hayman (Andor, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit). After the heist is complete he just can’t follow the gang’s rules and stay away from the rest of the thieves. Ian Puleston-Davies (Pennyworth, Life on Mars) plays Ray Bilton, another member of the gang who walks away early on. The weakest link is Kenny Collins, played by Alex Norton (Shetland, Pirates of the Caribbean). Kenny falls asleep while on lookout and he’s charged with finding a place to hide the loot. He’s baffling and incompetent at every level, raising the question of how these players could really complete any project together, let alone a major heist. The other key member of the gang is Basil, played by Brían F. O’Byrne (Dead of Winter, Medium). Basil may be the smartest of the bunch–he knows how to play the sides of Terry and Brian and leave town when his instincts tell him to.

What the series does well in addition to the quality of the performances is reveal how crime affects the victims. So in that regard it earns its place among heist adaptations. The only compelling drama comes by way of Nasser Memarzia (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Knightfall, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) as Goorna Cyrus, a jeweller who loses all of his wealth in the heist, and according to the film doesn’t get it back. Even with the small screen time devoted to him, his wife, and a worker at his jewelry shop, it’s enough to immediately get you cheering for the team of old men to get caught.

Watch out for T’Nia Miller (The Haunting of Bly Manor, Doctor Who) as DC Laura McIntyre, and the ubiquitous Thomas Coombes (Legends, Black Doves, The Acolyte, Grace) as the guard in charge of securing the bank vault.

This wasn’t the first adaptation of the heist. King of Thieves (2018), starred Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, Jim Broadbent, Michael Gambon, Paul Whitehouse and Ray Winstone, and The Hatton Garden Job (2017) starred Matthew Goode, Stephen Moyer, and Joely Richardson.

The series doesn’t have a lot to recommend, but you may want to catch it if you’re a fan of any of the actors involved. Some memorable scenes include the security guard’s reaction to discovering the break-in, a scene where the gang hides the loot in garbage bins in plain sight since Kenny’s wife won’t leave the house, and a scene where four members attempt to divide the loot using a coin toss. The Hatton Garden Heist is now streaming on BritBox via Prime Video.

Catch up with our reviews of other quality British TV series (including Australian and New Zealand shows you’d find on PBS, BritBox, Acorn TV, and Hulu) beginning with our Top 10: Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes, Zen, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, Mr. Selfridge, Guilt, The IPCRESS File, The Hour, The Gentlemen, Black Doves, and Shetland—especially the first seasons. You could stay pretty busy with our full list of top British TV recommendations: Legends, Deadloch, The Artful Dodger, Van Der Valk, the first season of Sherlock, Troppo, Case Histories, This is Going to Hurt, Black Snow, Mystery Road: Origin, Death Valley, Dept. Q, Bodkin, The Bletchley Circle, Good Cop/Bad Cop, Grace, Steeltown Murders, Hinterland, Glitch, Mystery Road, Culprits, Harrow, Annika, Young Sherlock, The Day of the Jackal, Code of Silence, Luther, Professor T, and Supacell.

After you’ve seen all of those, try Viva Blackpool, Marchlands, Lightfields, State of Play, After the Flood, I, Jack Wright, Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, Population 11, Sunny Nights, Protection, Traces, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Scrublands, The Survivors, Ordeal by Innocence, Unforgotten, The Bay, Wild Bill, Quirke, The Hatton Garden Heist, Requiem, The Gloaming, The Clearing, The One, The Tourist, The Tower, Collateral, Roadkill, Stay Close, The Salisbury Poisonings, and A Confession.

Other British series across genres that are worth checking out (a few still to be reviewed here) include fun romps like Monarch of the Glen, Para Handy, Cranford, Viva Blackpool, and As Time Goes By, and cozy mysteries Rosemary and Thyme, Father Brown, Hetty Wainthropp, and Death in Paradise. One of the best of all British productions is the reboot of All Creatures Great and Small, which is in our British Top 10 (and the original is good, too). Of course there’s always Doctor Who for your sci-fi fix (and spin-offs Torchwood and Class), The Watch for your fantasy fix, Truth Seekers and Sea of Souls for your supernatural fix, and Spaced for more sci-fi fun, and we really should add House, MD, for Brit lead Hugh Laurie’s one-of-a-kind performance. (We’ve also reviewed but don’t heartily recommend so much Dublin Murders, The ABC Murders, The Pale Horse, Reef Break, The One That Got Away, The Silence, The Five, The Missing, Thirteen, or Broadchurch, as well as No Offence, which could have merited a review for its first season but, like Sherlock, its later episodes were a disappointment).