Armored is an action-packed heist flick that doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. It's not trying to win an Oscar, and it doesn't maximize on the substantial talent pool of Lawrence Fishburne, Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, and Skeet Ulrich. It is, however, a movie that at its core longs to wrestle with what makes a man good or evil.

Ty Hackett (Columbus Short) is a Marine veteran with a decorated record of service in the Middle East who hooks on with the Eagle Shield armed car service where his godfather, Mike (Dillon), works. Struggling to keep his younger brother, Jimmy (Andre Kinney), out of child and family services, he begrudgingly commits to Mike's plan of robbing one of the crew's own trucks. Joining Mike and Ty in their attempt are Baines (Fishburne), a crazy, gun-toting nut; the deadly Quinn (Reno); the mild-mannered Dobbs (Ulrich); and the god-fearing Palmer (Amaury Nolasco).

Of course, Ty commits on the grounds that no blood will be shed and Mike promises that there are "no bad guys here, we're all good guys." Of course, there are no victimless crimes, and soon, the bullets are flying and death has entered the building. You've known all along thanks to the commercials that Ty's moral resolve returns, and the crew kidnaps Jimmy to try and bend his will. What follows is a "typical" but entertaining sequence of events that leads to Ty once again being the hero and the other thieves vanquished.

While the main thrust of the movie is the dichotomy between Ty and Mike, one whose heart is still good and one whose heart has grown crusty and black, there are a few subplots which also entertain. Palmer's "come-to-Jesus" moment where he doubts that his god can forgive him comes at an opportune moment for Ty, and Nolasco's acting is passionate and fiery. On the other hand, Dobbs also experiences a crisis of conscience, but his means are more mild.

Overall, the temptation is presented for each of these men; some choose to embrace it and others are ultimately repelled by it. The lust for money, whether for the right reasons or not, corrupts, and in the end, serving truth or serving money is a decision that comes to us all.