A dazzling ensemble of criminals led by Liam Cunningham and Freddie Highmore is just insane enough to try to seize wealth buried deep beneath the Bank of Spain. The completely absurd, leave-your-rationality-at-the-door heist film The Vault is a slick and well-rehearsed effort that has shades of great films like Den of Thieves and The Bank Job, but with its own distinctive aura owning to its unusual target, an impenetrable vault hidden under the Bank of Spain.

The Spanish crime film was renamed from the rather unclear Way Down title and remains one of those films you know you’ve forgotten nearly as soon as you turn the TV off. There’s nothing essentially wrong with Jaume Balaguero’s slickly filmed account of an Ocean’s Eleven attack on a strongly defended bank to recover riches. It’s just a movie that should be full of unexpected twists, eccentric characters, or captivating leads to set it apart from the competition, but it misses the mark in those aspects.

Viewers who truly appreciate operational dramas may be drawn in by the technical parts of the plot regardless of some non-redeemable qualities this film holds. Nevertheless, anyone expecting more from a heist film than the genre’s basic clichés expertly performed would be disappointed.

Walter Moreland and his crew recover a significant amount of lost treasure off the coast of Spain, but the Spanish government seizes it instantaneously. So, Walter and his team of specialists, which includes Lorraine, the master of deception, and James, the diver, decide to take it, which involves breaking into the world’s most guarded vault. Their group is mostly complete besides needing an engineer. Then emerges young college student, Thom Laybrick, presenting him as the most probable choice. 

Thom deduces that the subterranean vault is actually a massive scale that, when tilted, dumps a massive tank of water into it, flooding the entire room and drowning anyone inside. Thom has very limited time to solve the complex problem in order to utilize the impending World Cup as a cover-up diversion.

The Vault is a film that has a great idea at its core, but never quite manages to turn it into a thrilling experience. This sleek but unoriginal heist thriller never succeeds to elevate the thematic resonance, requiring significant forbearance for its instructive holes.