Kidnapping Mr Heineken

The small-time crooks behind the ill-fated 1983 kidnapping of Dutch beer tycoon Alfred “Freddy” Heineken are the focus of this entertaining albeit by-the-numbers thriller from Swedish director Daniel Alfredson (The Girl Who Played with Fire).

Anthony Hopkins plays the title-role with effortless charisma opposite Jim Sturgess and Aussies Sam Worthington and Ryan Kwanten as his captors – a free-spirited mob who bites off more than they can chew.

Despite the film’s underwritten characters and the fact that its lead actors speak with their native accents, which is both incongruous and distracting, Kidnapping Freddy Heineken is a slick production that benefits from snappy pacing, an irreverent tone and some riveting set pieces including a boat chase through the canals of Amsterdam. (JH) ***