When Money Heist first premièred on Netflix, it came with a bunch of stellar reviews and hype. The Spanish show (original name: La Casa De Papel ) had already finished broadcast in its home country, and was touted as the next big foreign language import on the streaming service. The show, telecast as 15 hour-long episodes in Spain, was repackaged with a new title, and the series edited into 22 shorter episodes broken down into two seasons, with the second having premièred recently.
Money Heist begins with the introduction of a professional bank robber, who goes by the moniker ‘Tokyo’. He is approached by a mysterious genius, ‘Professor’, who is putting together a band of men and women to take hostages at the Royal Mint of Spain. Unlike heist dramas that revolve around straightforward robberies, where the money is there for the taking, the Professor has drummed up an unthinkable plan — to hit the source of the money itself. The ploy involves the gang — each of them using aliases in the form of city names — staying inside the building for a period of 10-12 days, during which they print the money they eventually plan to walk away with. If you take money that doesn’t belong to anyone else to begin with, is it even a robbery?
The anatomy of a heist movie is well-known — the planning, execution and aftermath fit nicely into the feature film structure. Money Heist is on to something ambitious: Could a story about robbers stuck inside a building with hostages sustain the long-form template?
It’s smooth sailing for the first few episodes. While Tokyo and her fellow gang-members — Berlin, Nairobi, Helsinki, Oslo, Moscow, Denver and Rio — get on with their plan, the Professor pulls the strings from the outside. Officer Raquel Murillo, involved in a custody battle with her husband, is entrusted with the job of negotiating with the robbers. The Professor strikes up a friendship with Murillo under a pretext, using it to get close to the investigation. Meanwhile, inside the building, the hostages start looking for ways to break free.
Money Heist begins to slacken around the halfway mark, where the scenes between the hostages and their captors begin to feel repetitive. The Professor is a man with a trick up his sleeve at every corner, and that seems a bit convenient after a point.
However, the story gets a boost towards the end of the first season with a couple of intriguing plot twists, and Season 2 is where the show really hits its stride. Alvaro Morte and Itziar Ituno, playing the Professor and Murillo respectively, are fantastic actors, and their scenes together sparkle. By this time, even the ancillary characters begin to seem real and fascinating.
What Money Heist does best, however, is end well. The last two episodes are the most thrilling of the lot, and the multiple strands explored over 22 episodes tie together nicely — no mean feat. The series requires an investment of time and patience, but if you choose to hang around, there’s a massive payoff in the offing.
All episodes of Money Heist are now streaming on Netflix
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