The Bank Job

Rating: out of
Released: 2008
Directed by: Roger Donaldson
Cast: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Richard Lintern, Daniel Mays

I'm a sucker for heist movies. Good, bad...it doesn't really matter. I'm the type that'll watch all those obscure Alain Delon 70's flicks that were directed by Italians or D level French directors. So when I actually do see a good hesit movie, it makes the experience all the more enjoyable. And when I see a heist movie done in 2008 that's somewhat smart and doesn't pander to the movie-going audience, keeping the dialogue firing on all cylinders and relying on good old fashioned suspense and character evolution, then that's cause to truly celebrate. Roger Donaldson's "The Bank Job" is just that. Jason Statham is relegated to only one very short fight sequence and head butt, while the rest of the film relies on whip-smart plot mechanics, double-crossings and some taut editing to heighten suspense. At the very least, this will make you want to run out and buy every copy of "The Asphalt Jungle" and "Riffifi" that one can find.

The plot is based on an actual robbery in London in 1971, many of these events still debated on today since it seemed to involve principle people both in the underworld and the uppercrust. Martine (Saffron Burrows) enlists old boyfriend Terry (Statham) and his motley crew of thieves to help her carry out a robbery at the Lloyd Bank of London. Her motive is to regain pictures taken of British royalty in a compromising situation. Before long, MI-5, the local police and other assorted neighborhood villains become involved in the plot in various capacities. Part of the fun of "The bank Job" is it's no-frills attention to a wide array of colorful and motivated characters. Every motive is suspect, some of the players may be double agents and one's head begins to spin with the nefarious possibilities that threaten to sink the whole mission. For adult entertainment, it's a smashing success, which means there are no car chases, 2 bullets fired the whole movie and a constant wonderment applied to the heist, which takes up the first half of the film. The second half deals with the converging forces of good and bad as the heist begins to gain public attention around England. Will Statham and crew make it out? Who's double-crossing who? It's all handled with flair.

Donaldson, whose career has been long and varied, has churned out perfectly digestible genre entertainment with "The Bank Job". It plays fast, loose and even carries a very nice 70's vibe (despite the painfully obvious music by artists like T Rex) in cinematography and texture. While the finale tastes a bit cliche, I was able to look past its amiable flaws and recognize "The Bank Job" is head and shoulders above any other recent heist film to roll onto the screens.

Reviewed by: Joseph B.

Mar 09,2008