Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie's heist thriller branded "slick" and "silly" in divisive reviews

A new heist thriller starring Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie has divided critics. Set to premiere on Apple TV on 13 November, 12 12 12 centres on a bank vault raid, including 12 months of planning the heist, the 12 hours of the crime itself, and the aftermath that plays out across 12 days.

A synopsis teases: "The series follows a disgraced FBI agent (Anthony Mackie) and an American career criminal (Jamie Dornan) as they play a zero-sum game of cat and mouse across Europe. At the centre of it all is the daring, epic raid on a bank vault deep beneath the streets of Zurich."

Following early screenings of the show, 12 12 12 has received mixed reviews from critics, with some labelling it "slick" while others thought it was "silly".

Related: Best streaming services

In their review, The Hollywood Reporter thought it "lurched from promising to disappointing", adding: "In Oreo terms, this “special edition” isn’t as good as the BTS Brown Sugar Pancake, nor is it as icky as the Apple Pie a la Mode, which managed to simulate neither apple pie nor ice cream in any recognizable way.

"But if the question is 'Has this heist show done anything to improve on the original formula, or even to justify permanence in the heist genre firmament?' the answer is an unequivocal 'Nope.'"

Radio Times said "Apple TV's gimmicky heist drama is trying too hard", writing: "12 12 12 does very gradually acquire some momentum in the back half of the season, especially when a late twist upends what we’ve seen so far. But long before then, the game's up."

However, AV Club called 12 12 12 "thrilling" and "slick", and thought it "introduces some new tricks to the onscreen high-stakes heist repertoire."

The Irish Times thought Dornan was "impressive" in the series, which they called a "silly thriller that gets the job done".

Related: ITV confirms new Leeds-set crime drama with 'determined detective' starring Bridgerton fan favourite

The publication added: "12 12 12 does not have a single original idea in its eight episodes. This turns out to be one of the best things about it. There are echoes of the De Niro-Pacino dynamic in Heat in the love-thy-enemy adversarial relationship between Paul and Jack."

The People's Movies said: "While 12 12 12 doesn’t rank amongst the best in the genre, it’s a crime thriller that provides plenty of entertainment and two actors with tons of screen presence to make this a captivating watch from start to finish."

12 12 12 premieres on Apple TV on Friday, 13 November.

Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.

The new edition of Legends, a 100-page celebration of the world of K-pop, is here. Buy K-Pop in newsagents or online.

Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy Rebecca is a freelance journalist who specializes in TV and film. After beginning her career as a digital entertainment journalist for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, she embarked on a freelance career in 2021 contributing to the likes of Metro UK, The Sun, WhatCulture, Screen Rant, FilmHounds Magazine and more. Her particular field of interest is horror cinema and she has written for genre publications such as Ghouls Magazine and Moving Pictures Film Club. LinkedIn