The Italian Job

What's the Plot?

The plan...faultless. It's execution...perfect. The escape...clean. The only thing that mastermind thief Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) never took into account was a betrayal from within. After pulling off a gold bullion heist from a heavily guarded palazzo in Venice, Charlie and his gang - inside man Steve (Edward Norton), computer expert Lyle (Seth Green), driver Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), explosives genius Left-Ear (Mos Def) and one-time gang boss John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) - find themselves left for dead and gold-less when one of them turns out to be a double-crosser. When the surviving members of the gang track down the back-stabber in California, Charlie convinces legitimate safecracker Stella (Charlie Theron) - Bridger's daughter - to help them re-steal the gold. Not for payoff, but for payback and to avenge their fallen comrade. However, this is not the waterways of Venice. This is Los Angeles with grid-locked streets second-to-none in the world. Any attempt at escape this time is going to need alot of planning...and alot of luck...and alot of small cars !

The Review

Before the "purists" amongst you get out of their prams, this "Italian Job" is NOT a remake, nor is it a "re-imagining" like the disastrous Planet Of The Apes. The only connection to the 6-'s original is the main character's name, a pretty cool heist and a blinding escape using 3 Mini's, but that's it. So, with that in mind, it can be fairly judged for what it is: a film in it's own right. And what an enjoyable, fun little film it is too. The characterisation is not high on the flick's priority list but in it's favour, Wahlberg does make a better "not Michael Caine" then he did doing his "not Charlton Heston" in Planet Of The Apes.

Norton, usually a show stealer, hands in a decent "slimey" performance but manages to not slip into Jack "OTT" Nicholson territory. Infact, the people who actually grab and hold the attention throughout is the rest of the gang with Green bagging the biggest share of the laughs, especially at the expense of Statham's supposedly smooth mover/lover. But, let's face it. If you've bought a ticket to see it, it's not the human element that you want to see. It's director F. Gary Gray's take on the heist and that all-important Mini escape. The good news is that you money has been well spent. Even though you're left waiting for well over an hour, when the "job" does take place, the new Mini's take their rightful place in centre stage.

Winding their way through crowded streets, up sidewalks and for one amazing sequence, through the subway train tunnels just ahead of a train, the action sequences are superbly handled with a ridiculous face off between Norton's helicopter and Wahlberg's Mini still able to not slip into groaning territory. The movie's first heist is so good - a safe disappearing right under the eyes of the perplexed guards with a water chase right out of a Tomb Raider game - that the end sequence had to be better so it goes along with the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" slogan and almost mimics it but this time with an armoured truck this time round. So, not as good as the recent Ocean's Eleven re-vamp, but none-the-less a great little movie to sit back, relax and just damn well enjoy.

STEVE'S SCORE