Robert Redford makes a sweet robber in ‘Old Man and the Gun’

Robert Redford has said “The Old Man and the Gun” will be his final movie as an actor. He might be bluffing, and🅘 this could really ওbe his own Cher “Farewell Tour.” But if it is indeed his last, it’s not a bad way to go out.

The 82-year-old film star plays real-life con man and bank robber Forrest Tucker who, at 70 years old, escaped San Quentin Prison and went on a cross-countr🐲y bank-robbing spree. He busted out of countless clinks before that. People loved him.

Tucker wasn’t a thug, or a masked strongman terrorizing his way into vaults. For his heists, he went on the charm offensive, kindly lett𒀰ing tellers know “This is a robbery,” with a smile and rarely bran♒dishing a weapon. Redford — cordial, smooth-voiced, quintessentially American — is the perfect pick for the most agreeable robber of all time.

While Tucker is regularly swiping cash from banks — with a group of friends the press calls “The Over-the-hill Gang” — he meets Jewel (Sissy Spacek) at a diner. She’s a single woman who is immediately taken with his down-home sophistication. Tucker tells her he’s a criminal, and, googly-eyed, she thinks he’s✤ kidding. Sparks fly between Spacek and Redford.

There is a speck of conflict in the film, delivered in a forgettable performance from Casey Affleck aꩲs Detective John Hunt, Tucker’s pursuer. As opposed to being Tucker’s fo𒀰e and foil, Hunt is a bemused observer. Affleck becomes Redford’s hanger-on, loitering on-screen while the acting legend wows.

Don’t come to “The Old Man and the Gun” looking for a tense caper. It’s probably the most relaxing movie you’ll ever watch about a serious criminal. Unlike “Catch Me If You Can,” whose colorful main man Frank Abagnale Jr. committed similar wrongdoings — stealing, false identities, evading police — “Old Man” isn’t hilarious or sleek.𝓰 It’s mellow, like a campfire tale, or your grandpa’s stories set tꦰo whiskey. Redford’s voice never becomes louder than your average therapist’s.

Director David Lowery, who helmed the surprisingly excellent “Pete’s Dragon” in 2016, brings his folksy heart and small-town aesthetic here, too. He’s also brought along Redford, who starred in “Pete’s Dragon,”🐠 and th🌱e pair are clearly like-minded.

Rather than framing Tucker’s life as an intriguing bit of hist༺ory, the duo seize on the man’s relatable mindset. He’s just a guy getting on in years who prefers a few thrills to an eternal Florida🌠 retirement. Tucker didn’t steal to live, he lived to steal.