THE BANK JOB REVIEW

**Andrea Speed** · #1 March 9th 2008, 09:39 PM

Reviewer: Andrea Speed andy@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Decent
Rating: R - for violence, sex, nudity, language, the whole magilla

Ordinary blokes plan a bank heist, unaware that they’re being used for a greater purpose.

Starring: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, James Faulkner, David Suchet
Writers: Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais
Directed by: Roger Donaldson
Distributed By: Lionsgate

This is a serviceable thriller about a petty criminals and the one big score that goes horribly wrong (then right, in a fashion), although if you go in expecting something like the great British crime films of the ‘70’s - such as Get Carter (the original with Michael Caine, not the hideous remake with Stallone) or The Long Good Friday (okay, technically released in 1980, but it has the same feel) - you will be disappointed. The only reason I bring up those films is because being made in the ‘70’s, where this film is set, it brought them to mind.

But this film is not that ambitious, but then again, it’s not your typical brainless Statham action film, which is good. No, this is a small film based on a true story of blue collar, working class guys who have been known to dabble in some shady business, who get approached by a femme fatale ex of one of the guys about doing an “easy” job on a bank‘s safe deposit boxes. Nothing’s that easy, but the guys are willing to go for it, even though such a thing is really beyond them. They’re not stupid, it’s just that they’ve never done anything as big as a bank job before. They’re so clumsy that when they’re cutting a tunnel to the bank, their jack hammering gets the cops called on them, and their walkie talkie messages are picked up by a ham radio operator. No, they’re not geniuses. And yet they seem to pull it off … unaware that the whole things’s a set up, involving shady government operatives, a black activist/criminal, and blackmail photos involving the royal family. Only once the job is done do they discover they’re in way over their heads, and it isn’t just due to those scandalous photos. No, it seems there are other scandalous photos (and film) involving politicians and prostitutes, and a ledger put together by the “porn king of Soho” that incriminates every single crooked cop in the city. They’re pursued by intelligence operatives, crooked cops, and worse - people who will happily kill to get what they want back. Or just because you ticked them off.

The funny thing is, that’s the really interesting part of the story. The whole bank heist stuff is fairly pedestrian - not bad, just not too thrilling - and you find yourself waiting until we get to that bit. And then that bit seems to move fairly quickly, as they scrambled to save their necks and perhaps use this nuclear material to their own advantage. The whole film is very low key, which works for it in certain spots, and against it in others. It could have used more of a sense of urgency in certain parts. It does have slow moments, and sometimes you wonder why you’re supposed to care about the characters (and I never bought the romance between the femme fatale and the knockabout ring leader). The cinematography is utilitarian, not very exciting, but it does its job, and gives you a good impression of working class London in the ‘70’s.

As films go, it was decent, and I was entertained. I wasn’t thrilled, mind you, it’s not genius, but it’s not a film that aims to knock your socks off. I think it may have been a better film if it tried, but since they don’t make a lot of these types of films anymore, I’ll take what I can get.

Magnus2k · #2 March 9th 2008, 10:52 PM

Went to the movies tonight. It was either this, 10000 BC or Bank Job, or Semi Pro.

The g/f picked Semi Pro.

Normally, I like Will Ferrells movies. I do find him funny. This movie blew though. IT suckes, simply put.

Ben Lehnsherr · #3 March 9th 2008, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magnus2k

Went to the movies tonight. It was either this, 10000 BC or Bank Job, or Semi Pro.

The g/f picked Semi Pro.

Normally, I like Will Ferrells movies. I do find him funny. This movie blew though. IT suckes, simply put.

10,000 BC would have been a better bet.....As long as you don't think of it as a history lesson and accept it as a really good looking visual action feast, its good times.