Entertainment · TV & Streaming · 5 hrs ago
12 12 12 reviews find promise and flaws in Apple's heist series
Apple TV's 12 12 12 follows an FBI agent and a team of thieves in a heist drama starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan.
Mackie plays Jack Strickland, who is pursuing Paul Galvin, a master thief played by Dornan.
Jack seeks to stop Paul's crew from robbing a bank in Zurich, after a previous heist cost Jack a fellow agent's life.
The title refers to 12 months of planning, 12 hours for the robbery and 12 days to catch the crew.
The eight episodes move between the planning, the heist and the FBI's attempt to catch the thieves.
One review says the shifting timelines add suspense, while another finds the series loses its way and ends unsatisfyingly.
The reviews agree the show has an intriguing premise but deliver different verdicts on how well it works.
The series is scheduled to premiere on Apple TV on November 13.
Apple TV’s eight-episode heist drama 12 12 12 stars Anthony Mackie as FBI agent Jack Strickland and Jamie Dornan as master thief Paul Galvin.
The series follows a plan to steal money from a Zurich bank and uses three timelines: The Planning, The Heist and The Takedown.
The reviews disagree on whether the shifting timelines make the show effective, though both describe its heist premise.
The Hollywood Reporter says the series loses its promise and ends with an unsatisfying conclusion, while The A.V. Club says its timelines pay dramatic dividends.
The show is scheduled to premiere on Friday, November 13, on Apple TV.
- Who
- FBI agent Jack Strickland, played by Anthony Mackie, pursues thief Paul Galvin, played by Jamie Dornan.
- What
- The drama follows a crew’s plan to rob a Zurich bank and the FBI’s effort to catch them.
- When
- It is scheduled to premiere Friday, November 13. The A.V. Club says the Newark heist happened a little over a year earlier.
- Where
- The planned robbery targets a bank in Zurich; an earlier heist took place in Newark, New Jersey.
- Why
- Paul is compelled by exigent circumstances to take on another job; Jack seeks revenge for a partner’s death.
The Hollywood Reporter
The A.V. Club
Overall assessment
The Hollywood Reporter
The series starts with promise but loses its premise and ends unsatisfactorily.
The A.V. Club
The three timelines pay dramatic dividends and make the show occasionally thrilling.
Use of the heist premise
The Hollywood Reporter
The first two episodes show potential, but later episodes expose the premise’s limitations before dropping it.
The A.V. Club
The timelines can subvert assumptions and give new context to events.
A Newark heist goes wrong, and a fellow FBI agent is killed.
The heist crew plans the Zurich bank job, according to the series’ stated framework.
The series’ framework gives the crew this long to carry out the robbery.
The series’ framework says law enforcement has this long to catch robbers who escape.
12 12 12 is scheduled to premiere on Apple TV.
- Episodes
- Eight
- Main cast
- Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan
- Creators
- Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble
- Target location
- A bank in Zurich
- Target amount
- 800,000 Swiss francs, according to The A.V. Club
- Heist framework
- 12 months to plan, 12 hours to execute, and 12 days to catch the robbers
3 sources
12 12 12 review – Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan’s super fun heist hunt
‘12 12 12’ Review: Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan Can’t Save an Apple TV Heist Drama That Lurches From Promising to Disappointing
Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan play an occasionally thrilling game of cat-and-mouse in Apple's 12 12 12
What people are saying
A new twist on a genre, but no new inspiration.
I’ve watched all eight episodes, and the first two illustrate the premise’s potential, the next four illustrate the premise’s limitations, and the last two scrap the premise entirely to deliver an increasingly irritating series of unexciting twists leading to an unsatisfying conclusion.