- Rating: 3/5 Stars
- Verdict: "Although it divides its story of a Swiss bank robbery across three different timelines, '12 12 12' is mostly a standard-issue heist thriller. Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie effectively anchor the slick, well-paced series, which offers glossy action, luxurious locations, and minimal character development."
- Premiere date/time: New episodes premiere Fridays, starting with the first two episodes on Nov. 13
- Where to watch: Stream on Apple TV
There have been so many heist thrillers in movies and TV that it’s tough to find a fresh angle on the well-worn subgenre. The new Apple TV series “12 12 12” attempts to make its heist story stand out by dividing it among three timelines, inspired by a dubious-sounding FBI statistic quoted at the beginning of each episode: A high-level, professional heist requires 12 months of planning, 12 hours to execute, and if the robbers aren’t caught within 12 days, they never will be.
That gives creators Jim Keeble and Dudi Appleton a strict format to follow, but fracturing the narrative mostly serves as a distraction from the basic heist-thriller elements.
Just because it’s basic doesn’t mean that it’s bad, and as a connoisseur of this type of story, I still mostly had fun with “12 12 12.” Eight episodes is a long time to spend on a single crime, though, and the momentum flags as the season progresses, especially when the creators are simply filling in the gaps for events that viewers have already seen.
Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie are compelling as the central criminal and cop, respectively, and “12 12 12” is slick and propulsive enough to make for a mildly entertaining watch, even if it’s far from reinventing the heist thriller.
‘12 12 12’ breaks up its heist into three pieces
Although it could be confusing to follow three separate timelines of the same characters engaged in the same project, “12 12 12” makes it relatively simple, with onscreen graphics indicating exactly which part of which segment is taking place at any given time. The individual tracks (months, hours, days) unfold in a linear fashion, so that the first episode begins with the first month of planning, the first hour of the robbery, and the first day of the getaway. Each episode moves the story forward in all three time periods.
In that way, “12 12 12” is rarely disorienting, but the structure also robs the story of some potential suspense. Viewers already know that the planning stage will lead to an actual heist, and that the heist will succeed well enough for the perpetrators to get away. Even so, Keeble and Appleton are able to consistently deploy surprise twists, and they use the show’s structure for misdirection, when something that happens in one particular time period turns out not to be what it seems once information from later or earlier is revealed.
Laid out in a straightforward manner, the plot is pretty standard. Reformed robber Paul Galvin (Dornan) is drawn back into criminal activity by his screw-up older brother Bobby (Jack Kesy), who’s gotten himself in trouble with a powerful French mobster. That menacing crime boss threatens to kill Paul’s wife Severine (Agathe Rousselle) and his unborn child if he doesn’t take on the job of stealing nearly $1 billion in cash stored by the Russian mafia in a Swiss bank.
Meanwhile, FBI agent Jack Strickland (Mackie) has transferred to Europe so that he can track the Galvins after a failed takedown in Newark that left Jack’s partner dead.
‘12 12 12’ balances a large ensemble with intricate plotting
To pull off the heist, Paul recruits an extensive crew that includes his drilling-expert father-in-law, the bank’s disgraced head of security, and a contortionist who can fit inside a safety deposit box, among others. Most of the characters get limited screen time, and even a recognizable star like Kali Reis of “True Detective” is little more than a cog in the heist plan, playing an expert in train engineering who plans the getaway. It’s a bit disappointing given the lengthy running time that there isn’t more room for character development beyond the combative relationship between the Galvin brothers.
That fraternal dynamic wears out quickly, but Jack has a more complex, rewarding arc, as he has to transcend his desire for revenge against the Galvins and find a way to move forward. The most compelling relationship in “12 12 12” is between Jack and Swiss police detective Lena (Sallie Harmsen), who goes from wary colleague to devoted ally to something more. Their scenes together have more emotional resonance than all of the Galvin brothers’ macho bluster.
Even if the characters never acquire that much depth, the plot moves so briskly that there’s rarely a chance to stop and wonder what makes these people tick. There are a couple of exciting car chases, especially one through the streets of Zurich in the first episode, plus plenty of nail-biting moments as the crew tries to solve various problems under the threat of imminent discovery or danger.
Verdict: ‘12 12 12’ is a solid, stylish heist thriller
If nothing else, “12 12 12” puts its budget to great use, with action that spans multiple European countries and set pieces that include a giant avalanche and a narrowly avoided train collision. It’s not as lively or witty as the “Ocean’s” movies, and the rivalry between Paul and Jack has nothing on Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in “Heat.” But it holds the audience’s attention almost all the way to the end, until a final episode that has one or two superfluous conclusions.
The timeline trickery proves to be largely superfluous, too, but it keeps viewers on their toes and offers a few satisfying “aha” moments. That’s about all a heist thriller needs. If the formula works, there’s no reason to mess with it.
“12 12 12” premieres Nov. 13 on Apple TV
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