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Netflix’s ‘The Vault’ is a high-stake heist thriller that combines genius puzzle-solving elements and modern treasure hunting.
The movie follows a group of people who tries to break into the vault of the Bank of Spain to retrieve special coins that contain the coordinates of a hidden treasure trove.
The film is directed by Jaume Balagueró and stars The Good Doctor’s Freddie Highmore, along with The Sea Wall’s Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, Maleficent’s Sam Riley, Game of Throne’s Liam Cunningham, Cell 211’s Luis Tosar, German actor Axel Stein, Spanish actor José Coronado, and How to Get Away with Murder’s Famke Janssen.
‘The Vault’ ended in a relieving twist, but the treasure hunt is far from over. Let’s get back to the events of the film and unravel that last-minute twist. Warning: ‘The Vault’ spoilers ahead.
‘The Vault’ Synopsis and Ending Explained
Marine Archaeologist Walter Moreland (Liam Cunningham) retrieves a crate from the bottom of the ocean, believed to belong to the naval explorer Sir Francis Drake. The crate is said to hide three coins, which contain the coordinates to a hefty treasure trove that Drake kept hidden from the British crown.
Walter wants to get the treasure, but that didn’t happen after the Spanish government intervened. The Spanish government considered Walter’s work to be piracy. The government took away the crate and locked it in a vault inside the Bank of Spain. However, Walter refuses to let go. He soon began an elaborate plan to get the coins back and look for Drake’s hidden treasure.
Walter finds Thom (Freddie Highmore), a genius young man fresh out of college. He offered Thom to be part of his heist team that aims to take back the crate of Francis Drake. Thom is unable to resist Walter’s offer. He decides to join the team to retrieve the coins from the vault.
That particular vault has state-of-the-art fail-safe technology and heavy security and CCTV surveillance. Walter managed to gather his whole team consisting of trickster Lorraine (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey), old partners James (Sam Riley) and Simon (Luis Tosar), computer geek Klaus (Axel Stein) and, lastly, Thom, the genius who could crack the safe. The operation happens during Spain’s road to victory during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
How Thom Cracks The Vault’s Fail-Safe Technology?
The seemingly impossible mission is divided into parts. First, they hack the bank’s cameras, get the keys to the vault, and studied the location to find its weak points. They discovered an underground chamber in the vault and a blurry space above it. Thom concludes that the blurry space is a water tank. Once the vault is breached, the water tank above will release the water, trapping unauthorized persons below.
The vault acts like a giant scaling machine. Whenever it detects extra weight, the fail-safe mechanism is activated, and the water pours down. To succeed in the mission, Thom must find a way to dupe the mechanism. After spending a long time thinking, Thom finally found a way to fool the scaling machine by using liquid nitrogen. Thom wants to use liquid nitrogen to suspend the scaling machine in equilibrium, making it unable to detect weight. Although James is quite hesitant, Walter puts his trust in Thom. They proceed with the plan to freeze the scaling mechanism of the vault using liquid nitrogen, and it works!
Did Walter And His Team Retrieve The Coins From The Vault?
The floor freezes and James, Thom, and Lorraine break into the vault. However, the liquid nitrogen can’t hold the mechanism forever. The team quickly retrieves the coins, but the head of security is already chasing after them.
Walter tells them to abort the mission and surrender to the security. But James double-crosses the team, and we soon find out that he is working for the British intelligence. The nitrogen liquid slowly loses its effects, triggering the fail-safe system. The water spilled into the team, but James managed to swim to safety and escape along with the coins.
Lorraine and Thom were left struggling as the water is about to fill the vault. Thom devises another plan to fool the safety mechanism once again. He told Simon to put all the emptied nitrogen cylinders on the weighing scale so that the mechanism would think that the water has already reached the ceiling. Unfortunately, the weight of all the cylinders is not enough, so Simon jumps into the machine. Unfortunately, that is still not enough to stop the water. Simon runs out of objects to throw while Thom and Lorraine are almost drowning. In the middle of desperation, Simon finds his radio and puts them on the scale too, finally making the weight even and saving Thom and Lorraine just in time.
Where Is Sir Francis Drake’s Treasure?
After betraying the team and seemingly stealing the coins from the vault, James hands them to his superior agent Margaret (Famke Janssen), who is also Walter’s old friend. They took the coins to an archeologist, who concludes that the treasure is located under the Eiffel Tower! But wait, the quest is not over yet!
We later find out that Walter has already anticipated James’ betrayal. He made a believable replica of the coins, and James brought the fake ones after his escape. Walter already visited the same specialist, long before Margaret and James came to ask him to deduce the coordinates of the fake coins.
The truth is that the treasure is not under the Eiffel Tower but somewhere in the Bank of London.
Is There A Sequel For ‘The Vault’?
There is no official announcement yet regarding a sequel, but the film’s ending indicates that a sequel is highly possible. The heist has just begun, and the creators clearly have a sequel in mind. The sequel will most likely see the team retrieving the treasure in the Bank of London. Will Walter and his team get the sought-after treasure? Let’s hope that a sequel is officially happening to find out. We will keep you posted on the latest updates so make sure to follow us.
