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The Bank Job 8 out of 10 Posted: 08/04/08
Running time: 1:50 MPAA rating: R (Violence, language, nudity and sexuality.) Peruvian rating: Mayores de 18
Cast: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, James Faulkner, Alki David, Michael Jibson, Richard Lintern, Keeley Hawes, David Suchet.
Director:
Roger Donaldson
Photography:
Michael Coulter |
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Most heist movies are all the same. They almost always concern the preparation for a big robbery (against a bank, or sometimes a Casino – see the Ocean movies for a high-profile example), the execution of such crime, and the consequences of the adventure. Not that this is a bad thing. When done right, these kinds of films can be really thrilling, exciting, suspenseful, funny and entertaining. The Bank Job is such a flick. The movie won’t win any awards for originality, and although the premise is pretty predictable, it is executed in such an entertaining fashion that it’s pretty hard to hate the film. Additionally, it’s not totally devoid of originality… The Bank Job has enough twists and turns to keep the viewer interested in the proceedings, and the screenplay, as well as the acting, is solid enough to elevate it from mediocrity. The Bank Job is not the best caper movie out there, but it is a pretty fun way of spending 110 minutes in front of the TV. (I didn’t get to see it in theatres.)
Like many movies nowadays, The Bank Job is “based on a true story.” It tells the story of Terry Leather (Jason Statham), a man who runs a car-sales garage, and is in debt to a loan-shark who doesn’t seem to believe in forgiveness. (Nor in respect for his cars.) He is also has a happy family – he’s married to Wendy (Keely Hawes), the typical housewife, and has two children. One day, though, old flame Martine Love (Saffron Burrows) approaches Terry with a proposition: she has met a man who has given her information that might allow them to put together a team in order to rob a nearby bank in Baker Street. Terry decides to believe her and goes own with the plan; he grabs friends Kevin (Stephen Campbell Moore) and Dave (Daniel Mays) in order to do the job… but he doesn’t know the truth. Martine is actually working for MI5 agent Tim Everett (Richard Lintern), and is after the contents of safety deposit box 118 - erotic pictures of Princess Margaret that are being used by Trinidadian thug Michael X (Peter De Jersey) to blackmail the government.
What I like about The Bank Job is that it tells a pretty predictable story in an unusual fashion. Caper movies normally build up to the crime itself – most of the film is dedicated to the preparation of the robbery, and its execution happens during the last third of running time. In The Bank Job, the robbery happens during the middle of the movie, which means the crime itself isn’t the only thing the screenwriters care about. That’s because the film tells a complex storyline – it involves the MI5, cops, corruption, criminals and porn kings, as well as the thieves themselves. The good thing about Roger Donaldson’s (Thirteen Days, The Recruit) direction is that he manages to maintain everything clear so that the viewer doesn’t become lost in the plot, and the screenplay, by Dick Clement and Ian LaFrenais, is intelligent and interesting enough so that the audience doesn’t feel as if they have seen this story before in some other movie.
It feels refreshing to see Jason Statham in a role like this. He normally is associated to pure-action-and-adrenaline films. He’s had roles in The Transporter trilogy (the third instalment is due to be released this year), Crank and War, and although he’s really good at kicking butt, one sometimes gets tired to see the same actor doing the same things in every film he appears in. In The Bank Job, he plays more of a mastermind, an intelligent and reliable guy who seems to have a plan for everything. Yes, he is tough, but he doesn’t resort to beating the crap out of everyone he meets. (Something Statham does in almost all of his flicks.) The rest of the cast is also really good – Saffron Burrows (Miss Julie) conveys a good sense of sensuality and mystery for the character of Martine, and Stephen Campbell Moore and Daniel Mays, Terry’s closest friends, give the proceedings, along with the rest of the “team”, an effective sense of camaraderie.
The Bank Job is a pleasant motion picture. Instead of focusing on telling the story of some random robbery as detailed as possible, it tries to tell a compelling and complex storyline that involves more than blue-collar robbers and cops. Although it’s based on a true story, one doesn’t feel that the filmmakers have abused of this “license” – one feels that they have done actual research and told the story in the most truthful way possible, fictionalizing some names and events, of course. In the end, The Bank Job is a heist movie told in an effectively uncommon way, a mature motion picture filled with great performances, a smart and straightforward script, and a story worth telling. Movies like these prove that originality isn’t absolutely necessary in order to craft an entertaining motion picture.
©2008 Sebastián Zavala - Star Wars Epica