The Bank Job

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Very Good Caper Film Based on "The Baker Street Robbery", 2009-01-01
"The Bank Job" may not be the greatest caper film ever made, but it is definitely a hugely entertaining one--that is, as long as you ignore plot holes and certain elements familiar in the gangster film genre. The heist film's story, reportedly based on the real crime "The Baker Street Robbery" that happened in London in 1971, is a bit too complicated with subplots about the royal family, corrupt cops, honest cops, a brothel and a political activist, but the fast-paced film is always light and captivating at the same time with the capable British cast. br / br /Jason Statham is Terry Leather, happily married father of two daughters. He is also heavily in debt and needs money now. That is when his former girlfriend Martine Love (Saffron Burrows) shows up before him, offering a lucrative "job" to him. Actually, Martine has her own motives for supporting him. Little did Terry and his team realize that the bank's vault actually keeps some secrets the robbers really don't want to know. br / br /The plot is full of twists and turns and it keeps a good pace throughout the film's 110 minutes. "The Bank Job" changes its tone in the second half where things get more tense and violent even though direct descriptions of violence are avoided. The entire cast did a good job, especially David Suchet as a chilling crime lord. Director Roger Donaldson, as in his "No Way Out," is a skillful storyteller who manages to keep you interested in the story full of tension and suspense as well as incredible coincidences and plot holes (What happened to negatives?). br / br /Perhaps the film ends too neatly and some parts look implausible. I don't know how much of the story is really "based on truth," but "The Bank Job" is still an interesting and enjoyable ride. And try to spot Mick Jagger who briefly appears.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

oh, them crazy royals..., 2008-12-31
I don't think I'll ever get tired of heist pictures, and if the heist picture also turns out to be a period piece, then my fan joy cup doth runneth over, brother! THE BANK JOB serves up grand larceny and its nasty aftermath. The film re-enacts the daring "true-to-life" robbery which went down in 1971, on Baker Street, East London. Back in the day, the Lloyds Bank heist made very big noise in British media, for a bit of time anyway, until the British authorities issued a D-Notice which effectively gagged the press. But it's cool, because now the whole dirty laundry can be aired out, merely by watching this movie. Because movies absolutely never lie. br / br /What's in Safety Deposit Box #118? Why, the McGuffin, of course, in the form of explicit photos featuring a British royal princess caught engaged in the naughty. Now this isn't much of a spoiler as the film spells this out early on; that's what all those opening scenes of salacious frolic were all about. And these photos, locked away in Box #118 at Lloyds Bank, are presently owned by a civil rights activist, who's actually more notoriously identified as a "slum landlord, a drug dealer, and a vicious pimp," if I'm quoting the film correctly. British Intelligence is aware of what's in Box #118, and it prevents them from hauling this local kingpin to the gallows (or whatever it is they did to blackhearted miscreants back in the day). Okay, so the dilemma for MI-5 (or MI-6, I don't think the film clarifies) is how to obtain these photos without causing a scandal? How about getting some villains to rob the bank, specifically the vault which holds the safety deposit boxes? Of course, the villains must never, never know about Box #118. br / br /Enter Terry Leather (Jason Statham), a modest car lot owner with mischief in his past and currently owing the local loanshark, except that he's late with the dues. So he gets a visit from a duo of shakedown bullies. On a less painful note, Terry also gets a visit from lovely Martine Love (Saffron Burrows), a femme fatale type who Terry has known for years. Martine has a proposition for him and his shifty mates. And, yes, it concerns a bank job. So off they go, with the recruiting, and the scheming, and the execution of the thing, and the funny bits with the walkie-talkies. But Terry's a clever sort. He soon sniffs out that there's much more going on than a simple robbery. But when he and his chums realize how deep they're in it, well, after all, they're only small-time hoods... What chance have they got, going up against vicious thugs, crooked cops, and implacable government spooks? Oh, and a smut king? br / br /Part of the charm is that these small-time hoods are mostly regular blue-collar dudes, of similar stock that produced them blokes what done THE FULL MONTY. Even the film title doesn't put on airs, getting right to the crux as it does. It's easy to root for these guys. Jason Statham, the leader of the pack, has always had screen presence and again brings his steel-wool stubble, balding dome and rugged quality to the role. That, this time, he also has a wife and two kids whom he obviously adores grounds him as a character and makes you root for him all the more. I like that Terry Leather isn't a mastermind, who's got every angle covered. When the crapcake comes down, he fails to save everyone. Terry has native street smarts, and this helps him out of several jams. But he also becomes the beneficiary of great good luck and outside circumstances. br / br /I don't think THE BANK JOB rates as an instant classic, but it's a very good movie, and one I'll most definitely catch up with again. Taut, gritty storytelling presents us with several close scrapes and also moments which don't at all go our villains' way. The tension is ratcheted up in the second half of the movie, as we begin to see the brutal fallout of the heist. There's no doubting that THE BANK JOB, in a vicious-fist-to-the-gut sort of way, is more suspenseful than, say, those breezy Ocean capers. Here, the stakes feel more real, because the people feel more real. I also quite like the film's closing caption: "The names of many of the people identified in this film have been changed to protect the guilty." I wonder what really went down that time at Lloyds Bank, back in 1971. I guess, now and then, even the high muck-a-mucks deserve to engage in a bit of chickee-wang-wang... but, tsk tsk, those crazy royals...

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

ok flik, 2008-11-30
Statham is always great, but this movie was slow and boring. The only good part is that its a true story. And the English accents drove me crazy. br /If you want a great movie, its not this one. Watch Street Kings!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Surprisingly exciting, 2008-11-29
I didn't know anything about this film prior to seeing it other than that it was based on a true story about a group of English petty criminals who decide to tunnel beneath a bank in order to rob safe deposit boxes. The heist is the idea of a woman played by Saffron Burrows, who has a specific and ulterior motive for wanting to rob a certain safe deposit box. br / br /Jason Statham shows that he's grown as an actor in this one. He's moved beyond simply scowling and karate chopping people in the windpipe. His crew members are distinct and colorful, and they are extremely likeable despite their criminal acts. br / br /This film isn't fancy. It's a sad story told simply and in straightforward fashion. It's not as polished as The Italian Job or as smarmy as Ocean's Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen. It's a no-frills tale that will leave you wondering at the lengths people will go to for wealth and to save their skin when they get in trouble.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Sexed up, but still boring , 2008-11-25
The Bank Job has more nudity and blatant semi-porn than any movie I've seen in a while. Unless you're a thirteen year old male, or want to watch porn without the stigma of actually having to rent it, you might find this movie a bit boring. I'm all for period pieces that are free from cliched car chases, violent shoot-em ups, or two-dimensional characters, but sadly this movie lacks the former but without the compelling plot of a true drama. There is a haphazard quality to the film. At times I was expecting it to go the direction of Oceans 11 and be a 'lovable set of criminals' movie where each character contributes their set of skills to accomplish a goal; a sort of criminal 'magnificent seven.' The Bank Job starts down that path, but then abandons it in mid stream. br / br /Aside from Jason Stratham's character, all of the criminal gang are faceless and pretty unremarkable in the end. There is little likability among them. Also, the stakes feel fairly low until near the end of the film, when they are jacked through the roof, contributing to the unbalanced quality of the narrative flow. Most importantly, one of the best plot elements is left relatively unexplored: the story of a female MI5 agent who has infiltrated a domestic terrorist organization. Deeper examination of her story would have provided a very interesting parallel to the main action. br / br /This is a busting at the seams steam fest with crud loads of gratuitous sex, nudity, and titillation, but with very little real substance. If you want a cleaner alternative, check out Flawless. If you want a more traditional, more action packed heist movie, watch The Italian Job. If you want something in the middle, there is always The Thomas Crown Affair.