Toy Gun Bandit review: TIFF 2026
‘Toy Gun Bandit’ is a crime comedy about a threesome of clumsy Canadian bank robbers who blunder their way into gangsters’ crosshairs.
In Toy Gun Bandit, an incompetent trio decide to try their hands at robbing banks.
Félix (Félix Munger) turns 15 and decides to shake up his whole life. After his uncharacteristic antics alienate his friends, he comes across Dave (David Beaudoin), a twenty-something parolee. Dave brings Félix in on his plan to rob a bank. Their other partner, Sara (Sara Montpetit), is a drug addict who barely remains sober for the theft. But even when they figure out a system that works, their ineptitude brings trouble to their doorstep.
This trio of misfits are the opposite of cool and organized. They have no business pulling off bank robberies when their youngest team member is also the smartest. Consequently, their first job is a sloppy disaster. Recognizing their errors, they get their act together. But their thefts still have amateur written all over them. They lack professionalism and flash stacks of cash all around town. This showboating inevitably draws the wrong kind of attention from Quebec City’s seedy underbelly.
It’s a credit to director Rémi St-Michel and Munger’s performance that Félix remains likeable throughout the picture. He radiates frantic energy, which surges when he’s nervous. It’s that reckless enthusiasm that suppresses the part of his conscience that would oppose committing a felony. But the portion that doesn’t want anyone to get hurt remains active.
Even when he’s breaking the law, Félix can’t stop being a nice guy.
Toy Gun Bandit had its world premiere in the Centrepiece programme at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Check out our complete TIFF coverage.
Director: Rémi St-Michel
Starring: Félix Munger, David Beaudoin and Sara Montpetit
