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The works of beloved British author Charles Dickens have been adapted and updated and reworked time and time again in the nearly two centuries since they were first published. Each new adaptation offers its own perspective, its own take on the literary classics—like the modern-day heist movie and Oliver Twist adaptation, Twist.
Twist follows the street-smart adventures of Oliver Twist (Rafferty Law), who was orphaned as a boy and chose to live his life alone on the streets of London. When he meets a band of orphaned young thieves led by father figure Fagin (Michael Caine), he decides that it might be time to put his solitary days behind him and join their little family—even though it means joining in their schemes, too. And, as his first job, he ends up helping the team try to steal a stolen painting from a shady art dealer.
As this team of good-looking young rascals plans their (incredibly clumsy) art heist, they race through the rough city streets, dodging their share of cops and crooks. But while the film seems to start out promising a Dickens story directed by Guy Ritchie, it quickly turns repetitive and tedious. Its attempts to be edgy and modern result in little more than a whole lot of parkour sequences, a bunch of sweeping shots of the modern London skyline, and a ‘90s Brit band soundtrack (which is probably the film’s greatest asset).
Meanwhile, the Dickens classic gets almost entirely lost along the way. The characters have similar names, and they live on the streets—but that’s about as far as the comparisons go. None of the characters here are especially likeable—or even memorable. Characters like Sikes and the Artful Dodger should have plenty of personality—but, instead, they’re bland and awkward. And, unfortunately, nothing here really feels like it works.
While it could have been a fast-paced movie about loveable young thieves who live and work together on the streets, Twist takes a beloved classic and turns it into an unremarkable heist movie with a complicated story that viewers just won’t really care enough to follow.
Twist is another film that had so much promise: a promising cast, a classic story, a cool modern style. But the plot isn’t as clever as a heist movie should be, the characters aren’t very interesting, and even the action is unimpressive. When it comes to Dickens adaptations, there are dozens of good ones that you could watch instead of this one.
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