The Bank Job
Lionsgate Home Entertainment - Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Release date: 2008-07-15
DVD
Director:Roger Donaldson
Actors: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, James Faulkner
Bank Robbery, Caper, Color, Crime, Crime Comedy, Crime Thriller, Docudrama, Drama, English, Feature, Feature Film-drama, Gritty, Humorous, Movie, Mystery, Mystery / Suspense, Mystery / Suspense / Thriller, Nostalgic, Nudity, Ominous
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The Bank Job
Date undefined"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.
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.
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?).
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.
The Bank Job
Date undefinedI 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.
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.
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?
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.
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...
The Bank Job
Date undefinedStatham 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.
If you want a great movie, its not this one. Watch Street Kings!!
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