"Stander" tells the true story of a South African cop who, in the waning years of apartheid, kills an unarmed black man in a riot, has a crisis of conscience, and rebels against the establishment by robbing banks thereby becoming a legend in his own time. An underwhelming and mechanical film which never really brings the human story into focus, "Stander" spends it's time dutifully going through the obligatory biographical benchmarks with good production value, a modicum of entertainment, and a poor presentation of the complex psychodramatic issues which gave rise to the cop turned crook enigma. An okay watch for anyone into the Guy Ritchie "Lock, Stock...." kind of energy with some action, no titillators, and a whole lot of bank robberies. (B-)
