‘Tower Heist’ Occupies Big Screen

Ben Stiller plays an manager who is ripped off by penthouse resident Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda). Stiller and the other swindled employees (Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Michael Pena and Gabourey Sidibe) plan their comic criminal revenge in Tower Heist.

After an FBI agent (played by Téa Leoni) leaks word of a large stash of cash in Shaw's apartment, Stiller's character hires Slide, a two-bit cat burglar played by Eddie Murphy, to plan the heist.

The movie picks up with Murphy’s arrival, but I was hoping it would come sooner than 40 minutes into the film.

Tower Heist is smart, streetwise and sassy, mostly because of Murphy. Director Brett Ratner uses his ensemble cast to give the film an Occupy Wall Street feel. You want the 99 percent—the underdogs—to win.

The flick-o-meter gives Tower Heist four out of five.