How To Rob A Bank Shares A Major Theme With This Iconic ’90s Keanu Reeves Movie

Spoilers for “How to Rob a Bank” ahead.

Throughout history, cops and robbers have been inextricably linked. This comes with the territory, of course, yet the closeness between the two leads to the lines between them inevitably becoming blurred. So, naturally, the crime movie has a long standing tradition of exploring this mercurial, murky relationship, with filmmakers like Michael Mann making it a specialty of theirs. 

Part of the tension inherent in the relationship between cop and thief is one which stems directly from a tenet of drama, which is that the villains are often more interesting than the square heroes. This issue becomes compounded when the heroes represent a flawed and unjust system of governance, something which the so-called villains only seek to rage against.

“How to Rob a Bank” is a movie cognizant of this exact flavor of moral tension and looks to exploit it to the fullest at every turn. A story about disgruntled and disenchanted radicals who’ve each been treated horribly by the American system becoming bank robbing YouTubers could’ve been a simple riff on the Robin Hood mythos, with the vigilantes taking from the banks and corporations and giving back to the needy (as well as themselves). And while this is an element in the film, director David Leitch and writer Mark Bianculli provide an equally compelling argument for the cause of authority, as represented by FBI Agent John West (John C. Reilly) and hacker Reagan Gardner (Zoë Kravitz).

Indeed, the pair directly examine the seductive allure of robbing banks versus its harsher reality, even name-checking the ’90s Keanu Reeves classic “Point Break.” This is more than just a cheeky reference, too, as both “How to Rob a Bank” and “Point Break” share the major theme of grappling with ethical behavior in a broken world.

In “How to Rob a Bank,” Agent West and Gardner are on the trail of the Wolf Pack, the group of friends turned bank robbing YouTubers who’ve been pulling off bank jobs across the U.S. while gaining a viral following online. During a lunch break, West explains how his father was the innocent victim of allegations of insurance fraud, leading to Gardner asking if this was what inspired West to become an FBI agent. Instead, West reveals that it was “Point Break” that made him want to join the FBI, to which Gardner replies, “That means you really wanted to rob banks.” West’s thoughtful look in response to that comment says volumes.

This also speaks to the ways David Leitch’s movie and Kathryn Bigelow’s “Point Break” blur the lines of morality for those watching as much as their characters, which is by design. In both films, the forces of the law are initially portrayed as stodgy, closed-minded, and bureaucratic, while the bank robbers are alluring and even sexually attractive in their exploits. The Wolf Pack in “How to Rob a Bank” are humble, blue-collar people who adopt “Fortnite”-flavored alter ego personas during their robberies, while the Ex-Presidents in “Point Break” are punk-tinged political satirists who wear caricatured masks of past U.S. presidents while doing a job, then go off to be part of a surfer commune as themselves. Both groups initially look like idealized outlaws, and it’s that quality that makes West, much like FBI Agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) in “Point Break,” uncertain if perhaps they’ve chosen the wrong side.

Of course, it isn’t long before the robbers’ vigilante fantasy crashes hard into reality. But while this trajectory is fairly standard, neither of these movies lose their social commentary bite because of it.

As mentioned, Johnny Utah and John West aren’t immune to the plights or charms of the robbers they’re respectively chasing, with Utah nearly seduced into joining the ones in “Point Break.” Yet, his and West’s quests to see justice served is more about protecting the innocent. As West points out, people like him aren’t seeking to stop the robbers on behalf of a corrupt system so much as they’re attempting to protect the millions of other people who don’t have the luxury of opting out of the system.

This is why the conclusions of both films keep their revolutionary themes intact despite the robbers getting caught. In “Point Break,” Utah lets Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) surf a once-in-a-lifetime giant wave rather than taking him in, letting the man go out on his own terms. Meanwhile, in “How to Rob a Bank,” one member of the Pack is killed, and West only captures the leader, Ryan (Nicholas Hoult). Nevertheless, Ryan is still successful in his quest, as the Pack’s videos continue to exist online and foster a growing movement of discontent, while the rest of the Pack start a new video series: “How to Escape From Prison.” 

It’s telling that a 1990 film ends with affection for the robber who still ends up being punished, while a 2026 movie ends with hope for a robber’s escape. When it comes to cops and robbers, the ethics are murky as ever, but the revolutionary wave is beginning to grow.

“How to Rob a Bank” is currently playing in theaters.