When I heard about STANDER and saw clips from it and the reviews were mostly positive, I really wanted to see it. Unfortunately, once I got my hands on the DVD and watched it, I was totally disappointed.

I don't know all the details about the real Stander but the attempt to make him look like some sort of Robin Hood of South Africa were superficial. It's hard to empathize with a thief who, no matter how much he actually helped blacks, lived in wealth and loved to live the high life. Humble he wasn't. The script is based on a true story and again one wonders were the truth begins and were creative licences were made to make the story more exciting. In the end, I feel like I know as much about Stander now as I knew before I even heard of him, which just shows you how pointless this film was.

The big problem with STANDER are the cold, distant characters. No amount of stylish film-making can overcome a story with characters you just don't care about.