- Rating: 3.5/5 stars
- Verdict: This heist film is the type of movie that feels like it doesn't get made anymore. "The Weight" is not a blockbuster, and I don't think it's a realistic awards contender. Instead, it's around two hours of Ethan Hawke and his fellow prisoners trekking across the Oregonian wilderness with backpacks full of gold and people wanting to kill them and take that gold. There are a few great moments, but it's mostly just a good time at the movies, and that makes it a must-see in my book.
- Where to watch: See "The Weight" (2026) in theaters now
"The Weight" is a movie you might have on your radar if you're on your Letterboxd account as much as your Instagram. It hasn't gotten the same marketing push as, say, "Resident Evil "(2026), but it debuted at Sundance earlier this year before its international debut at the Berlin International Film Festival a month later.
But for those of you who don't keep up with the latest film festival indie movie darlings, trust me when I say this heist movie is one you'll want to see in the theaters. It's probably not going to be an Oscars contender. You don't need to see it for awards season. However, that doesn't mean it's not good — it is. In fact, other than an overly sappy moment with Ethan Hawke's daughter before the movie's plot really kicks off, I'm not sure there's a truly weak moment in the movie.
It also has a few moments where it shines. The Bavarian mountains standing in for Oregon are gorgeous on screen. Not quite "Train Dreams" level beautiful, but it looks great nonetheless. And there's a killer scene at night where you witness one of Hawke's fellow thieves get killed in total darkness, with lightning strikes providing the only glimpse at what's going on, and no sound other than the thunder.
For the most part, though, it's a well-balanced heist movie that never loses the plot. And, like any good heist movie, it has a cast that works perfectly together.
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022. He watches dozens of new releases every year to make sure you don't have to watch any of the bad ones.
This is Ethan Hawke's movie, but the cast is properly balanced around him
"The Weight" stars Hawke as Murphy, a man who was thrown into prison after an ill-timed brawl with a man who turned out to be a cop. That gets him sent to the Deschutes County Convict Labor Camp, where he's clearly the sharpest tool in the shed. Everyone knows he's the smartest man there, including the Warden, Clancy (Russell Crowe).
So Clancy comes to Murphy with a proposition. Haul a (metaphorical) ton of gold out of a mine about to be condemned in the Oregon mountains, and take it 50 miles away to a meeting place. If Murphy, and a team he selects, can do that, they'll all earn their freedom. If a single bar is missing when they arrive at the meet, they're dead men walking.
There's just one problem: people know they have the gold. Not the people at the mine; they manage to make it out of there okay, save for picking up Anna, a Native woman (Julia Jones) trying to escape the mining camp's men. No, instead, a miner comes across them as they're making their way to the meetup, and he quickly deduces why these six men (two armed) are out in the wilderness all alone.
Among those six, there really isn't a weak link. Some get more time to shine than others. It's clearly Hawke's movie, but Austin Amelio gets a ton of screen time as Rankin, a cocky, frankly racist convict who gets a wake-up call trying to survive this arduous trek. Jones is another member of the cast who gets her moments in the spotlight and is someone I'll be keen to keep an eye on in future movies.
If I had to pick a weak link in the cast, it'd be Alec Newman as Taggert. Not because he does a bad job as Hawke's main antagonist during the heist (Crowe's performance essentially bookends the movie, and Newman takes over in the middle). He does what he's being asked to do. But an actor of a higher caliber acting opposite Hawke would have potentially taken this movie up another level, depending on how the role was executed.
Verdict: A heist movie you'll have no regrets watching
Whether or not this movie has a weak link, at no point did it take away from my enjoyment of the movie. I had a good time from start to finish. I never really lost interest in what was happening on screen.
There were even a couple of moments where "The Weight" grabbed me. As I already mentioned, there's an incredible scene where one of Murphy and Rankin's compatriots is being killed under the cover of a thunderstorm. That was great. But there's a moment earlier in the movie where they come across a rickety bridge they have to cross. It can't handle the weight of the gold, so the solution is for Murphy to stand in the middle of the bridge, catch a gold bar tossed to him, then toss the bar onto the other side of the gorge. There's a moment during this scene where your heart just drops.
I don't want to spoil that moment any further, so you'll need to go see "The Weight" for yourself to find out. You won't regret it if you; while this heist movie falls just short of greatness, there's never a moment where it isn't at least good.
"The Weight" is in theaters now
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