Justin Routt’s “Armor” (2024) is a direct-to-video or VOD release which could also be categorized as a geezer teaser. A geezer teaser film is one whereby stars of yesteryears would be advertised as either protagonists or key characters in the poster which would be a far cry from their overall appearance in the film. Unlike most geezer-teaser films, Sylvester Stallone’s presence in “Armor” remains substantial. But it’s debatable whether it contributed to the quality of the film.
Armor (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Who are the Brodys?
“Armor” follows the father-son duo of armored truck security guards hired to transport large amounts of money as well as packages from one bank to the next. James Brody is an apparent teetotaler who, unbeknownst to his son as well as his compatriots at Alcoholics Anonymous, had already fallen off the wagon and never really got back up within the past seven years.
Both Brody’s alcoholism and his somewhat strained relationship with his son can be traced back to the trauma surrounding a tragic accident that led to the death of Brody’s wife, an accident that Brody still blames himself for. His alcoholism would also lead to him being removed from his post as a police officer and having to take the job of the security guard. But his experience lends a sense of gravitas to the entire affair, especially for his son. His son Casey, an expectant father, is very much concerned about the risks of the job.
Who attacked the Cash Truck?
As the movie begins, we also witness the group of professional thieves, led by Rook (Sylvester Stallone), preparing for presumably a heist, loading up with weapons, as well as making final adjustments to the plan. As it turns out, those adjustments would work, even if Brody is suspicious of the extra package not mentioned in the manifest that day.
But unlike most days, Casey’s wish of an action-packed trip, unfortunately, comes true when a black van starts chasing the armored truck. As James tries to swerve away, the van pushes it back on the road and finally manages to trap the truck in the middle of a bridge by bringing in another van, presumably under Rook’s orders. Rook and his team walk out of the vans and start shooting at the truck. Then, one of Rook’s subordinates, Echo, finally shoots a grenade at the truck, overturning it.
As James and Casey manage to get out of the overturned truck and take cover, James’ training kicks in. He manages to shoot three of Rook’s subordinates. Casey, while successful in shooting Smoke (Dash Mihok), doesn’t actually kill him—the bullet embedded in his kevlar. But Casey would be shot in the leg, and James had to drag him to the back of the truck and shut it down.
How do Brody and Rook face off?
Interestingly, Rook chooses to negotiate, and by revealing that he knows James and Casey’s identities, he wants to have the upper hand, but James correctly points out that Rook didn’t count on a couple of his subordinates being taken off the board so quickly. Moreover, James also searches through the package and finds gold ingots, with a coin engraved with an insignia signifying that the gold belonged to the cartel. But before James could process that information, Rook orders his team, led by a very aggressive Smoke, to throw smoke grenades into the van, effectively smoking them out. James, aided by a very hurt but still lucid Casey, tries to counter that attack by using the case foams and plugging the holes.
Once that happens, James has the upper hand in this negotiation tactic, where he shuts down Smoke’s taunts by revealing that he knows about the gold and reminding them about the difficulties of fencing gold belonging to a cartel. Realizing that James is in no mood for a negotiation, Rook orders Viper to get the drill ready and drill through the doors.
How did James’ wife die?
The simplistic structure of the film allows for the movie to essentially spin its wheels, with Casey finally having to confront James. Upon realizing that Casey’s leg is slowly risking being infected, James has to reveal the vodka that he is carrying in his thermos, which he has been carrying every day.
This leads to a flashback where we learn that one night, when James Brody, with his wife Trisha and Casey, had been driving to summer camp, he was in his police vehicle. During the trip that night, he would stop a speeding car, ignoring the advice of his wife to stop his cop brain. He would let the kid off with a ticket, but on that highway, while having a conversation with his wife and son in the car, the police vehicle was hit by a speeding truck, killing Trisha.
Back in the present, we see Casey absolve James by reminding him that as much as their relationship might be strained, Trisha’s accident hadn’t been James’ fault, and he should stop blaming himself. James takes Casey’s advice and uses a hook made with a makeshift latch of the cage containing the cases and uses that to pull the thermos to the back of the truck. Once he uses the alcohol to clean the wound, James is struck with a bright idea.
What pushes Smoke over the edge?
Relations between the robbers are already strained, as Smoke’s aggression and paranoia become compounded due to these complications. As the drilling is nearing completion, Casey cries out, requesting to be taken to a hospital. The thieves are distracted and don’t notice James crawling out of the emergency hatch, throwing a Molotov cocktail made with the help of the thermos, and tasing Smoke. He barely manages to enter through the emergency hatch, barely missing being shot.
Smoke is now stewing with rage, unable to take these amateurish moves, and along with Rook’s no-dying rule, it leads to blows between Echo and Smoke until Rook threatens to blow Smoke’s brains out if they don’t cooperate. But the problem isn’t getting solved because they had been very lucky that no passerby had gone past this road yet. Rook also surmises that they are running out of air soon, but Smoke refuses to wait. Instead, he kills Echo and shoots Rook in the chest before getting on his van and pushing the armored truck to the edge of the bridge before throwing a grenade. The resulting explosion pushes the truck, leading it to fall into the river.
Armor (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
What happens to the gold?
As the truck falls, it slowly begins to sink, with water entering through the open door and flooding the back of the truck. James valiantly tries and finally succeeds in freeing Casey’s leg, which had become stuck below the cages. As the father and son duo swim to the shore, James finally repays his guilt in a way by managing to save his son. The gold, on the other hand, is still in the truck, and Smoke’s plan, foolhardy as it is, had been to swim and take as much of the gold out of the sinking truck as possible. To that end, as James and Casey swim back to the shore, they are attacked by a still-alive Smoke.
Why did Rook help James and Casey?
As Smoke overpowers an obviously weakened and hurt James, and is on the verge of shooting him, he is shot from the bridge by a still-alive Rook. Rook is an honorable criminal (after all, he is played by Sylvester Stallone), and he has a code that he had revealed beforehand—not letting anyone die unless he can’t help it. When James and Casey make their way to the main road, they meet up with Rook, where Rook strikes a deal with James in exchange for saving their lives—the police should never learn that Rook had been here.
And even as James’ cop conscience couldn’t reconcile with this statement, he reluctantly agrees. As the Brody’s walk towards the scene of the crime, seeing the police cars pick them up, we see Rook being picked up by the bank manager who had previously assigned this transportation job to the Brody’s, revealing the nexus of the crime.
