Steal, which is also known as Riders is billed as an action packed thriller. Most have probably never heard of the film, and at a glance its lack of heavy hitters in the cast does not add to its merit. The story itself is a little overplayed and extremely out of context. As a mindless action movie Steal can be entertaining, but otherwise it is really hard to really get into.

The story is about a group of four friends who one day realized how easy it would be to rob a bank. Their first endeavor goes really well and they decide to continue. Unlike most bank robbers, this group of bad guy is different from the rest. They are young and like to include extreme sports in their getaways. This adds a distinct edge to the characters and story, which consequently adds to its unrealism. Leading the band of bandits is Slim (Stephen Dorff). He's the brains and the character the movie is really focused on. After a couple of successful robberies, Slim and his friends get noticed. Some really bad guy blackmails them into stealing stuff for him. That's when the story really starts to get interesting, because the criminals become prisoners trapped in a life they weren't meant for.

Another character who was supposed to play a big role (but never really seemed too) is Karen (Natasha Henstridge). She is a detective who gets mixed up with Slim, but their meeting has nothing to do with him being a criminal. It's actually pure lust. They meet outside of their ordinary lives and have a fling together. Their meeting does not really have any bearing to the story. However, they meet again later, but this time as cop and criminal. The problem with the Karen character is she's really portrayed wrong. She's supposed to be the tough good cop, but at the same time comes off very weak. When we first meet her, she's a real hard ass who can stand up to male chauvinist pigs, but she never takes a big role in the movie. It really felt like they were pushing her to be more than she was capable of.

The other big character in this movie is the villain, Macgruder (Bruce Payne). He gets portrayed as a tough and smart guy, who is fully capable of being a bad ass. Of course, he makes several mistakes in his endeavors, which lead to his demise. I suppose the way he goes about things (not caring about being caught) really depicts his arrogance. Although, the way he goes about some things just seems so completely stupid.

In general, the character roles weren't great. Several of the performances (from leading and supporting characters) felt a little over the top. Their dialogues were not delivered very well and the characters did not seem to fit together. The story itself could have been more interesting with stronger characters and a deeper plot that wasn't so transparent. Needless to say, Steal isn't a really great movie. However despite the many flaws, Steal is not without its entertainment value. It is one of those mindless action films where you need to let go of reality to enjoy. Once you're in that place, it isn't a terrible movie.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in 2.35:1 ratio widescreen color. The video quality is pretty good. For the most part the picture looks clean with a slight grain and minor compression artifacts. Occasionally during very active scenes (lots of motion) the image clarity would drop and a grain would be noticeable. Overall I didn't notice anything too bad.

Audio:
The audio track supplied with this release comes in English 5.1 Dolby digital surround. The sound quality is quite good with the dialogue tending to be flat and music and sound effects coming off rich and vibrant. Channel separation was used decently, with the distinction between left and right channels are being pretty good. This release also comes with English and Spanish subtitles.

Extras:
The special features in this release are pretty light. There is a short behind the scenes featurette with cast and crew. The featurette is more like an advertisement, with the cast and crew really praising the film.

Final Thoughts:
Steal is a bad action movie, there is no doubt about that. The cast is pretty weak, with performances over the top. The storyline isn't much better, as it is pretty unoriginal and fairly transparent. However, despite the movie's flaws, it pretty entertaining. Although it is one of those movies you need to let go of reality to actually enjoy. The bottom line, Steal is worth a rent.