"Stander" is the true story of Andre Stander, who was a police captain turned notorious bank robber in South Africa. The story goes that he participated in killing during a riot and in the line of duty and became disillusioned. In real life, he wasn't present during that riot. Some people think he simply became bored with what he was doing.Stander(Thomas Jane) decided to rob banks, sometimes during his lunch hour, and he was pretty good at it - so good that he could return to the bank later as the investigating officer. Eventually, his own comrades on the force caught him and he went to prison. There he met Allan Heyl (David O'Hara) and Lee McCall (Dexter Fletcher). After they escaped, they worked together in the robberies and became the most wanted men in the country.What was so good about this film is that it displayed the incredible audacity of these men and especially Stander - the prison breakout, the robberies, stealing cars - remarkable and in plain sight. The acting is superb. Thomas Jane is an American and I have to agree to comments about the accent - it was excellent. He portrayed a good-looking, disillusioned young man with a gorgeous wife who was looking for a different kind of high. He enjoyed going against the system, and one could tell that from the performance. The other actors were excellent as well.Allan Heyl, by the way, was paroled in 2005.A very exciting and absorbing film, sometimes outrageous, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and sometimes sad.

This is a gritty and realistic crime movie based on a true story. In any country, the plot of this movie would be interesting: police captain Andre Stander (played by Thomas Jane) turns not just into a bank robber, but into his country's most notorious bank robber. He's caught, of course, but then escapes and goes on a daring spree with his gang.What makes this movie even better is its remarkable sense of time and place. It is set in apartheid South Africa in the 1970s and the director must have gone to extraordinary lengths to recreate that world for the viewer. The scene of the 1976 riot in Tembisa is particularly striking. It's worth seeing this movie for that scene alone.The director may have presented us with a somewhat romanticised view of Stander. His off-again on-again relationship with Bekkie (played by Deborah Kara Unger) is depicted as central in Stander's life. Is it true that Stander had political motives? Or regret for his actions in Tembisa? According to crime reporter Rob Marsh, some think Stander killed more than one person at Tembisa and he may have been involved in two rapes.The two leads put in fine performances. Obviously they worked hard on perfecting their South African accents. (In general it's remarkable that this most South African of movies was made by Americans with North American actors.) O'Hara's performance as the unreliable gang member was particularly good. Fletcher and Taylor were also very good.Jane and Unger are an attractive couple. Take note Thomas Jane fans: there are extended scenes in this movie of Jane shirtless and au naturel.Craig Hunter of TheHollywoodNews.com is right about this movie. He recently wrote, "My pick to show just how good an actor (Thomas James) is has to the be criminally under-seen crime biopic STANDER. A truly awesome film from Bronwen Hughes with Jane as South African cop-turned-crook Andre Stander. Get it seen people!" That's a remarkable thing for a film reviewer to write nine years after a movie was made.

In 1976, in Johannesburg, the efficient anti-racist Homicide/Robbery Police Captain Andre Stander (Thomas Jane) has a nervous breakdown after killing an unarmed man in an apartheid protest. Stander decides to confront and mock the established corrupt system heisting twenty-six banks while working for the police department. He is captured and sentenced to thirty-two years in prison; however, he succeeds to escape with the criminals Lee McCall (Dexter Fletcher) and Allan Heyl (David Patrick O'Hara) and together they form "The Stander Gang" and rob another twenty banks in six months."Stander" tells the story of the notorious Afrikaner bank robber and former police captain Andre Stander. The movie works perfectly as an action movie, but if the intention was to give any political connotation to the actions of the anti-hero Stander, it completely fails. Stander is shown as an efficient but unbalanced man in love for his wife performed by the gorgeous Deborah Kara Unger that defies the system, not like a Robin Hood or to protect the black people, but for self-profit only. Thomas Jane has a great performance in the role of this complex character. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Stander – Um Policial Contra o Sistema" ("Stander – A Policeman Against the System")

Andre Stander (Thomas Jane) is one of the youngest police captains in South Africa. He's a dedicated cop until he killed an unarmed protester in a riot from the line of duty. Then he decides to change his profession by rubbing banks until he's gets caught by the same police force he worked with. Once he's in prison, he becomes friends with two criminals Allan Heyl (David O'Hara) and Lee McCall (Dexter Fletcher). They escaped from prison and they becomes one of the most successful criminals of the early 1980's for a brief moment. Which they become anti-heroes to the city. But there's way of crime is coming to end and crime doesn't pay.Directed by Brownen Hughes (Forces of Nature, Harriet the Spy) made an intriguing film with plenty of action and an refreshing sense of humour. Jane, who originally turned down the role at first. He gives an strong performance. Deborah Kara Unger appears as Stander's wife. This UK/Canadian/South Africa co-production didn't received an large released. But this movie will turned into an Cult Following.DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an good-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD also has trailer and an very informative commentary track by the director. This one of the most interesting true-life crime dramas in awhile. Don't miss it. (****/*****).