Kidnapping Mr. Heineken

R

Released Mar 6, 2015

1h 35m

Drama

Crime

List

19%

64 Reviews

Tomatometer

24%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1983, five longtime friends successfully kidnap and ransom the heir (Anthony Hopkins) to the Heineken beer empire.

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Critics Consensus

Dull and devoid of characterization, Kidnapping Mr. Heineken is a true crime thriller that rings false.

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jelisije j

Based on the true story of a kidnapping of the man who made an empire through beer and somehow I was not entertained with this story.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

kevin c

Based on the true story of a group of friends in Amsterdam struggling with their finances who concoct a plan to kidnap Freddy Heineken, the beer magnate for ransom. I love true crime flicks and heist movies, maybe because I'm fascinated by the planning and execution of the capers. However in both genres of film, nothing ever goes as planned. Great cast for this one including Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthington and Anthony Hopkins. Really enjoyed this one.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

isla s

This is an almost good film which just isn't quite. The fact it's based on a true story intrigued me and some scenes I enjoyed but it felt a bit disjointed. Certainly Anthony Hopkins performance as the calm under pressure kidnapped person is respectable but the start was a bit chaotic and I didn't feel very engrossed by it after things went wrong either. I did think it was thought provoking how the role seemed to change from kidnapped to criminal. That was the most interesting aspect of it - how Freddy tried to convince the somewhat bumbling criminals to do things a certain way, supposedly for their own good. I think if the script was changed it could be a much better film but it didn't really work for me overall. Personally, I thought the story was more interesting than the film. It just didn't really grab my attention much and its certainly not a film I'm likely to remember much of at all in the future. I liked that there's a fair bit of explanation provided on screen at the end, to explain what happened next to various characters. A good story but a somewhat bland and boring film, I wouldn't go out of your way to see this at all, no.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Drags & hard to follow. There are much better movies.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

Uno dei rapimenti più famosi della storia, viene raccontato dando priorità ai dialoghi tra i quattro rapitori; fornendo invece meno dettagli su quello che accadde. Tanti litigi, dubbi e conversazioni poco originali, mentre i fatti sono raccontati in maniera troppo sbrigativa e senza la giusta enfasi. Forse un'occasione sprecata, forse non c'erano gli elementi necessari per dare quel tocco di emozione in più.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The story itself is interesting and keeps you engaged, but, the movie is not

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

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Daniel Alfredson

Director

Anthony Hopkins

Freddy Heineken

Jim Sturgess

Cor Van Hout

Sam Worthington

Willem Holleeder

Ryan Kwanten

Jan "Cat" Boellard

Mark Van Eewen

Frans "Spikes" Meijer

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Wendy Ide

Times (UK)

It's a half-hearted crime picture which is ultimately about as successful as the clueless criminals that inspired it.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 2, 2015

Full Review

Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

A remake of a Dutch movie that itself wasn't much of a success.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 2, 2015

Full Review

Fionnuala Halligan

Screen International

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken is notable only for an appearance by Sir Anthony Hopkins as the titular brewer-turned-prisoner.

Apr 2, 2015

Full Review

Niall Browne

Movies in Focus

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken isn't a bad movie but it's frustrating to know that the director and cast could have delivered a final product that's much more deserving of their talents.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 21, 2021

Full Review

Allie Gemmill

CineVue

It fails in the basic requirements of a heist movie: there's no planning, no camaraderie, no competency and worst of all, no thrills.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 4, 2019

Full Review

Carolyn Cox

The Mary Sue

It's obviously possible to make compelling movies about true crime committed by unsympathetic people, but this sure isn't one of them.

Aug 2, 2017

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1983, five longtime friends successfully kidnap and ransom the heir (Anthony Hopkins) to the Heineken beer empire.

Director: Daniel Alfredson
Producer: Eric Brenner
Screenwriter: William Brookfield
Distributor: Alchemy
Production Co: European Film Company
Rating: R (Language Throughout)
Genre: Drama, Crime
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 6, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 22, 2016
Runtime: 1h 35m

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