Echo Boomers

The heist genre is well-worn cinematic territory. Audiences know to expect people in desperate positions to make irresponsible choices that inevitably lead to ruin or a life on the run. No one gets exactly what they want, and, more often than not, everyone ends up worse off than before their plans were hatched. Echo Boomers, knowing it’s treading familiar ground, chooses to subvert expectations with a vaguely meta retelling of robberies from the early 2010s and the chaos of emotions that led its protagonists astray.

Lance Zutterland (Patrick Schwarzenegger) is a prototypical millennial who grew up being sold the idea that hard work and a college education would set him up for life. Unemployed and losing faith in the American dream, Lance travels to Chicago and is quickly swept up in a criminal enterprise alongside similarly lost 20somethings. The group, under the leadership of a career criminal (Michael Shannon), robs the rich and sells their possessions. The rich, in turn, collect money on their losses through insurance companies. It’s a win-win for everyone — except the fans of cinematography and editing, as neither the slick shots crafted by Carlos Verón or the combined cutting talents of Dean Gonzalez and Ken O’Keefe can make this tired story feel new again.

Structured in such a way that you know the ending before you understand the crime, Echo Boomers utilizes one-on-one interviews with the criminal team to shape its world and our understanding of the characters. That setup gives the film ample room to steer us toward false assumptions and unexpected twists, but it chooses instead to litter self-aware digs at heist cinema and stereotypical millennial angst throughout the narrative.

Shannon, arguably the film’s main attraction, brings his signature intensity to the proceedings. His presence as the ringleader of the group is great, but his time in the film is incredibly short. He’s only shown in one location a handful of times, making it seem as though he did, at most, a few days on set.

The true star, Schwarzenegger, is a lovable every man who escapes the giant shadow of his father by approaching acting from a more soulful place. Lance is our guide into this world, and his inner turmoil over the events unfolding around him makes for an enjoyable, if predictable, watch.

Pinpointing the exact reason Echo Boomers doesn’t land the way screenwriters Kevin Bernhardt, Jason Miller, and Seth Savoy thinks it does, however, is a difficult undertaking. Maybe it’s the fact that we’ve all seen this movie before, and no amount of “based on a true story” positioning can distract us from the lack of originality. Perhaps it’s the inexperienced director, Savoy, who seems to be echoing the same films his feature is attempting to subvert, and the clash of those two ideas never quite gels. Or it could be that, regardless of how well-acted and adequately shot it may be, very little of this film lingers once the credits roll. It’s the fast food of cinema: good enough to fill you up, but largely devoid of lasting value.

Grade: C-minus. Rated R. Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes, and other streaming services

(Photo: Saban Films)