'No Sudden Move' revives the 1950s crime thriller for the streaming age

Steven Soderbergh continues his prolific directing streak with "No Sudden Move," a 1950s crime thriller that's an obvious ode to the movies of that era and a nifty showcase for its sizable cast, topped by Don Cheadle and Benicio del Toro. The film premieres on HBO Max, the director's second title for the streaming service in seven months, following "Let Them All Talk."

Owing a debt to nostalgia-dipped movies like "Devil in a Blue Dress" and the Coen brothers (the film stylistically resembling the most recent season of "Fargo"), the action unfolds in 1954 Detroit, where Cheadle's Curt Goynes and Del Toro's Ronald Russo are thrown together to handle what should be a pretty basic job: holding a family hostage long enough to compel the patriarch (David Harbour) to hand over some precious documents. The plan not surprisingly goes awry, unleashing a series of twists, crosses and double-crosses, starting with the fact that Goynes and Russo aren't entirely sure who's behind the whole scheme, having only been told, not very convincingly, that "some outfit out of Illinois wants to expand to Detroit."