[TIFF 2023] THE UMBRELLA MEN: ESCAPE FROM ROBBEN ISLAND -- An Energetic Prison Break Sequel to the Under-the-Radar South African Heist Flick

Review by Sean Boelman

Last year’s The Umbrella Men was an enjoyable entry in the Contemporary World Cinema section at TIFF, and this year, its sequel — The Umbrella Men: Escape From Robben Island — is looking to pick up distribution at the Industry Selects market. A slight improvement over its predecessor, Escape From Robben Island offers more jazz-fueled, if predictable fun.

After the events of the first movie, the Umbrella Men find themselves in hot water and get arrested, forcing them to break out of prison or else risk losing their precious club once again. Although the story is undeniably convoluted, Barker has such a grasp of pacing that it’s easy to put that aside and get wrapped up in the story’s fun.

While the first film was a pretty standard heist movie, the sequel sets its sights on another genre and its tropes: the prison break flick. The result is a movie that is certainly quite entertaining, even if it feels far too comfortable in its familiarity and predictability. Barker seems content with just giving the audience a good time, and in that regard, he does succeed.

One of the more questionable decisions made by the film is setting it on Robben Island — which the movie reminds viewers several times was the Apartheid-era prison used to hold political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela. Although the script does segue this into some discussions about colonialism, they’re often flippant and lack the feeling of urgency they would have needed to carry any weight.

It is both a blessing and a curse that this film is coming out in such close proximity to its predecessor. On the one hand, it’s close enough that it can bank on the goodwill that viewers will have remaining for the characters. However, that also means there is next to no character development in this sequel. In fact, the character arcs feel like a near rehash of what happened last time, just against the backdrop of a different story.

The most unfortunate part of this duology is the acting, which feels somewhat phoned in. The performances in Escape From Robben Island feel like they were even more low-effort, lacking the charisma it takes to pull off this genre. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with what the actors are doing, they simply aren’t adding enough flair. It’s as if they’re reading the lines as they are on the page and doing nothing more.

Still, despite all the movie’s weaknesses, the one thing that Baker excels at is creating a jovial atmosphere. Like its predecessor, The Umbrella Men: Escape From Robben Island is set to an upbeat jazz soundtrack that gives the film a very natural sense of momentum. Add in an inspired set piece in the second act, and you have a solid indie popcorn flick.

The Umbrella Men: Escape From Robben Island isn’t any less conventional than its predecessor — even if it borrows those conventions from another genre. Despite the familiarity of the story, it’s done well enough to keep viewers invested for the entirety of the runtime.

The Umbrella Men: Escape From Robben Island is screening at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Industry Selects program, which runs September 7-17 in Toronto, Canada.

​Rating: 3.5/5