Any heist thing is usually only as good as its representative parts: the planning, the execution, the getaway. In 12 12 12, an 8-episode thriller starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan, we see all of these sides of a bank heist, all out of order.  

12 12 12: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

Opening Shot: The austere, assured quiet of the safe-deposit room at Bank Lindenhof in Zurich, Switzerland, where a limber thief unfolds himself to emerge from one of the boxes. 

The Gist: OK, shades of the Amazing Yen, grease man in Ocean’s 11. But heist things are always talking to each other in the margins. 12 12 12 begins in the middle of the action, as the thief on the inside of Lindenhof collaborates with roleplayers on the outside and Paul Galvin (Dornan), the mastermind of this bold, elaborate heist. Twelve months of careful planning have come to this, and as Paul tells his brother Bobby (Jack Kesy), who’s also in on the job, “The Holy Ghost” won’t be able to stop them. That’s Jack Strickland (Mackie), a capable if obsessive FBI special agent, who has history with Paul. Strickland’s in Zurich, too, and he’s a lot closer to cracking this heist case than the heist-ers believe.

But we’ll have to wait for that part, because 12 12 12 is making time for all of its other parts. Onscreen prompts periodically shift the action between the actual job, the planning of the job, the aftermath of the job, and the takedown of the job. So it’s on us to plot connection points and weak spots and red flags as the series reveals its component elements in non-linear fashion.  

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Kari Skogland directs four episodes of 12 12 12, marking a reunion with Anthony Mackie after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The personal, central battle of 12 12 12, between two men dueling each other as they work on themselves, also reminded us of Nemesis. 

Our Take: We wish Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan weren’t saddled with some pretty obvious dialogue in 12 12 12, because they’re both powerful presences. We were learning more about their characters when they weren’t speaking than when they were, via movement and determination, just as we enjoyed watching the heist’s pieces fall into place — or fail and go sideways — rather than hear the characters talk. Does this mean 12 12 12 is better on mute? No, though it does look appropriately sleek for a contemporary thriller. But we predict there will be parts of this we gloss over caring about, as we follow Dornan and Mackie’s moves to a resolution.   

Sex and Skin: Yep! 

Parting Shot: “You stole from me, Galvin. Now you’re gonna know how it feels.” A heck of a foot chase through Christmastime Zurich sets up 12 12 12’s next non-linear chapter.

Sleeper Star: Jack Kesy imbues Bobby Galvin with enough wounded depth to make his character more than just Paul’s fuck-up brother. 

Most Pilot-y Line: “No one makes a better plan than you, Paulie.” The first heist rule is whatever can go wrong, will. But try telling that to any thief who is a fiend for action.

Our Call: STREAM IT! We’ll overlook some of 12 12 12’s watery, obvious dialogue, because we like watching Jamie Dornan face off with Anthony Mackie, and its disjointed setup makes us intrigued with its past, present, and future all at once.  

Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.