Kaleidoscope is a new Netflix series and attempts to take a unique approach in telling a heist story. Movies and TV Show about various heists usually tend take similar approach in their story telling. One of them is to show the story in a chronological order, but also omitting some key parts in the story to be revealed at the end. Another aspect of the heist movies or TV shows is that they usually tend to present clear distinction between heroes and villains. Thieves, while criminals tend to be on the good side as they are stealing from bigger rich thieves. Sometime we may even see Robin Hood like characters or crews that steal from the evil rich people or companies and give back to victims. In most of the cases, movies with heist stories tend have the audience to root for the thieves and see their missions to succeed.
There are also recreation of true stories of heists. These do not necessarily follow the common structure, as the real life stories will not match the fiction. Usually, it is mentioned early on that the movie or series is based on true story. This sets different expectations for the audience. While the viewer still continues to see thieves as good guides and root for the success of their heist, it ok for the mission to have hiccups and perhaps even fail. After all, the expectation is not to enjoy an entertaining fictional story, but to find out the facts of the events have actually happened.
Kaleidoscope does not fit any approaches mentioned above. It doesn't follow chronological order of events in telling the story. It doesn't present clear understanding of who is good and evil. It is not based on true events that took place in real life. And most importantly, it fails to deliver a successful heist. Well, heist itself is successful. But it fails in many disappointing ways. My personal opinion after watching the series on Kaleidoscope is that it is a disappointment as a heist themed story. The quality of series is great, actors did awesome job, it still has entertainment value and not complete waste of time. However, it fails in delivering a good heist story.
Kaleidoscope uses flash-back and flash-forward story telling techniques. Each episode tells a separate story within the main story, just like pieces of the puzzle for viewers to put together to understanding full story. It starts out very well with the initial episodes and keeps the viewers attention. However mid episodes start getting a little bit boring, as they continue to different stories and still don't get to the actual heist and mind games. But one thing keeps the viewer engaged is to find out the outcome of the heist which is not revealed until the very end. Before even reaching the end, the series start building up disappointment in the story and the final reveal just makes it a bigger disappointment.
Spoiler Alert: If you haven't seen the series and planning to do so, please read no more. Content below may contain spoilers. Feel free to circle back after watching the series to share your thoughts.
The mastermind of the heist and the team leader has been planning the heist for last 7 or 8 years. The plan is to break into the safest bank and its volts in New York City to steal untraceable bonds worth $3-4 billions. These bonds belong to some rich criminals who may have obtained their wealth in not so ethical or legal ways. The bank owner and the mastermind have known each other in the past, but that is not revealed until later episodes. The mastermind has an inside person who works in the bank and moves up to higher ranks as high as to senior vice-president. The insider turns out to be the masterminds daughter.
As with any bank heists, there is a need for a crew that includes people with various skills. After visiting old friends and acquaintance, Leo Pap manages to convince them participate in this heist and promises everyone an equal cut. Once everybody arrive in their warehouse, the first problem they have is there is no money to buy the equipment they need. This is where the story starts falling apart. How is it possible to not have proper equipment or money for equipment after planning the heist for 7 years? There was time to plan every detail of the heist and challenges, but somehow forgot this important piece? One of the approaches usually would be to include someone with money to the crew. Their solution for money to fund the heist equipment is to a smaller but chaotic heist of jewelry stores. The crew is able to pull it off but with a lot of noise in the city, and attracting FBI's attention.
The next challenge the crew is going to face is that the backdoor Leo has created 5 years ago in the banks system was conveniently discovered and patched. The solution they come up with is using some chemical explosive to divert hurricane flood water to the bank volts to trick its temperature sensors. Besides this, everything in the heist go smooth without any significant issues. It appears to be too perfect. The only issues is the crew members betraying each other and doing some stupid stuff, right after they managed to break into the bank, steal the bonds all undetected. All they had to do was get into the van and drive away.
By this time the bank owners knows the heist has taken place, FBI team is aware of it and the hunt begins. When the thieves make it back to their warehouse, they find out that bonds in the boxes have been replaced with copy paper. It is not clear if someone is trying to cheat or if the boxes were filled with bonds in the first place. People start killing each other. Some of the team end up running away. Then episodes start showing what happened six months after the heist. Leo and some others who escaped and trying to get by and living ordinary thieve lives. For some reason Leo is sick, his hands shake, he walks with cane. They have moved to other states, but still have not left the country yet. Hunt continues, unnecessary killings take place.
Then the big disappointing reveal happens that explains the motivation behind the heist. The mastermind Leo and the bank owner used to be very close friends and partners in the past. They both were thieves, cracked safes, stole money and jewelry, etc. Their friendship end after the accident that results in the death of Leo's wife, which takes place during the heist of jewelry. Leo's wife works for people who turns out to be racist. When Leo witnesses how his wife's boss mistreats their daughter and fires his wife, he decides to steal jewelry from that place during some kind of fancy event. Leo tells his partner, Roger about this plan and Roger agrees. This time it wasn't only about money, it was also a revenge.
While Leo and Roger are stealing the jewelry, Leo's wife receives a phone call from the former boss that she is needed and offers to rehire. She goes back to work the same night. After Leo and Roger successfully steal all the expensive jewelry and ready to leave, Roger starts a fire. Both of they were unaware that Leo's wife was at her workplace in the same building. As they are walking in the parking lot, Leo recognizes the car and they both rush back into the building to find his wife. They do find her but cannot get to her. Roger was on the other side and could try to save her if he decided to. He hesitates, runs away. By the time Leo get to his wife she was dead.
Leo has a daughter. As police arrive at the hospital to arrest him, he has an emotional moment with his daughter. It seems Leo ends up going to prison, while Roger remains free and builds his banking empire. Leo blames Roger for his wife's death and resents the fact that Roger was able to marry, have a family and successful business. This is why Leo plans the heist of the bank that belongs to Roger. Revenge. It was never about money for Leo. It was personal.
The problem with this reason and motivation for the big heist, is that death of Leo's wife was an accident. It wasn't Roger's fault. Even later Leo admits that he didn't know if Roger actually could save her at that moment. Roger is guilty of starting the fire, but Leo was also part of it. Leo didn't have a problem with Roger starting the fire and putting so many other lives at risk. With this revenge heist, and keeping it personal, Leo puts his team's life at risk as well. Nothing good happens to any of the team members as result of this heist. Half of them killed, a couple still running as fugitives. In such a story, I think if Leo just went and talk to Roger, he probably would share with him anything he had. He still didn't hold any animosity towards Leo.
The second thing that doesn't make sense is, why would a criminal thieve like Roger would try to become a banker? It could have been a more interesting story if the only reason Roger built a new reputation with the safest bank in the country to lure more rich people to deposit and hide their wealth in his vaults, to steal them later. But it seemed that Roger was happy with his new life as banker and serving the rich clients to keep their wealth safe.
Roger hires Leo's daughter to work at his bank. It is not clear if Roger hired Leo's daughter to take care her as respect for his old friend or some other reason. By this time it is believed that Leo was dead. If Roger thought Leo has passed away, there could be no ulterior motives for Roger to employ Hannah, other than to help with her career.
Leo has been planning the heist for last 7 years, and this is how long Hannah has been working for Roger. Most of Leo's heist planning relied on the information from Hannah about the bank security systems, the vaults, etc. Hannah was happy to help her father with this revenge heist. But she changes her mind at the very end, when the crew is ready to conduct the heist. She tried to convince Leo that it is not too late to stop. But Leo tells her there is no other way.
The problem with Hannah is involvement is what actually happened with the bonds. As the heist is going on, Hannah is also at the bank. As the cart loaded with vault boxes is being sent in the elevator, Hannah manages to temporarily stop the elevator, pull the bonds and replace them with copy paper. The heist was successful, in a sense the team was able to execute the plan, get into the bank undetected, crack the safes, pull the boxes and load the van and drive away. But the actual bonds were stolen from them while they were at the bank and placed into mailing boxes and mailed away by Hannah. Hannah was the inside person this entire heist relied on. But only Leo knew about her and rest of the team didn't. In fact, it is revealed at the end that Hannah tells Leo what she did and she did it for him.
She didn't steal the bonds for herself. She stole them to return to the owners. What? That makes zero sense. Her fear was that the owners of the bonds were rich and powerful, and they would hunt down and kill the thieves. In her way she was trying to prevent that. Her actions cancels the entire heist. It actually helps the bond owners, as they get to keep their bonds and claim insurance money after the heist. I think this was the biggest disappointment in the story. Not that Hannah wanted to save her father's life. It is just how she did. She played the key role in making this heist possible. She could have stopped the heist at any point by other means, like not sharing the bank security information She could have even warned Roger of the planned heist, so he could take other measure to prevent the heist.
No so much of heist series. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
