In 1998 New York City, a young man named Hank Thompson works in a bar. He deals with a lot, including unauthorized dancing from customers.

Outside his job, he has a girlfriend named Yvonne and even a British friend called Russ. But then there are some troublemakers who are harming him. They are Russian mobsters, Aleksei and Pavel.

Sometime later, those 2 beat Hank so bad that he has to be hospitalized. Not only that, but he also has to have his kidney surgically removed. Therefore, he can no longer consume things that he could before – including alcohol.

Later, narcotics detective Elise Roman comes to Hank’s apartment and questions him. Even though Hank isn’t the actual one in trouble, he sometimes fails to cooperate with detective Roman.

But detective Roman is actually asking about Russ – who turns out to be a drug dealer. And he is connected to the Hasidic Jewish brothers, the Druckers.

While on his mission, Hank does get chased by the Druckers, even through a grocery store and causing lots of messes. To make matters worse, he learns that Yvonne is in danger.

Unfortunately, when he tries to save her, it is too late. Yvonne has been shot and pronounced dead.

And Yvonne is not the last person to die. Several people are killed along the way during Hank’s, mission.

But can Hank be safe himself?

I found the 1998 setting quite interesting and unexpected. But that year was chosen instead of the current year, because the absence of smartphones and social media was necessary for the plot.

And setting the story in New York City made that more exciting for me. I grew up on Long Island, New York and visited Manhattan, several times throughout my life. So, trying to see what I could recognize in the background was fun.

That’s being said, this movie was not without its flaws. Even though the first several minutes did intrigue me, it got less exciting after that.

In addition, certain parts were so gross that I closed my eye for at least a few minutes. Yet this film is rated R, meaning that it’s not for children and can get away with overly revolting scenes.

But the other issues I had were slow pacing and the plot becoming harder to follow. Every time I assumed a lot oftime has passed, I stood corrected.

Overall, I thought Caught Stealing was just okay. I was hoping to actually enjoy it, though, due to reading the plot summary online.

But I give it 3 out of 5 stars.