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The Bank Job (2008)
Director: Roger Donaldson
Synopsis
Brit thesp Saffron Burrows and action man du jour Jason Staitham star in this comic heist movie that documents the 1971 robbery of a bank in Baker Street which has never been reported on as, despite achieving a haul of £3 million in cash and jewels, no arrests were made and no money retrieved as it was rumoured to have been connected to a Royal sex scandal that the government were trying to keep hush-hush.
Movie review
From Time Out New York
As its prosaic title suggests, this true-life caper flick from Aussie stalwart Roger Donaldson is as
stock as they come, despite a conjectural quasipolitical twist and halfhearted stabs at sociohistorical gravity. That said, The Bank Job gets by fine on its snappy pace, easygoing ensemble performances and fuzzy-wuzzy populism.
Based more or less on a 1971 London bank heist dubbed “the walkie-talkie robbery” (high-tech!), the film assembles a likable gang of working-class crooks to knock over a vault at the behest of an ex-model (Burrows). Unbeknownst to team leader Terry (Statham, playing both to and against type), the femme fatale has an ulterior motive—and a slick government partner (Lintern) who has reasons of his own for arranging the break-in. A sometime porn star (Mays) and an uncomfortably cartoonish black-power leader (De Jersey) figure in.
The robbery itself offers little that Rififi didn’t cook up 50-odd years ago, but originality isn’t the point here. More screen time is devoted to the protracted aftermath anyway, which throws the movie somewhat off balance and allows it to indulge in knee-jerk antigovernment cynicism. Still, Donaldson builds enough tension and draws enough humor from the situation to cover such lapses.
Author: Mark Holcomb
Time Out New York Issue 649: March 6-12, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- Reginald "happy" Snef said...
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Posted on Mar 24 2008 10:39
i like this film.
but why so long?
too long.
make shorter.
please. - Report as inappropriate
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- Donna Marie said...
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Posted on Mar 02 2008 17:38
The Bank Job tells the story of a group of friends who take the opportunity to rob the vaults of a bank in London. Terry (Statham) is approached by an old friend (Burrows) who claims to know someone in security who has told her that due to a problem with the trains setting the alarms on they wont be on for awhile. He soon persuades his friends to join in with the robbery. What they don’t know though is that Martine’s friends does not work in security. He actually works for the Government and he wants them to retrieve damning photos of a member of the Royal family from Michael X, a troublesome Jamaican revolutionary.
The robbery goes ahead but not without its problems but they manage to get away. However, things soon turn nasty when it emerges that a Soho porn king/gangster also has incriminating evidence in the vault and things turn violent as he tries to get it back.
The Good
The script is based on a true story with always makes interesting viewing. It briefly made headlines and then quickly disappeared due to a Government D notice, gagging the press for 30 years. This gives the film an air of mystery about it as we know we are watching things that the Government and police would prefer us not know about and a bit of scandal concerning the Royal family is always a winner and this (apart from Statham) is what I think will mainly appeal to the American audience who always seem interested in things to do with our Monarchy.
The characters are fun and well liked. Statham is in a role he seems very comfortable with. It is rather similar to his parts in Lock Stock and Snatch which have a down to earth realism about them. There are also some heart warming scenes between him and his little girls including one where he is dancing with one at a friend’s wedding However we also get to see him in action near the end of the film and although is character is very likeable he still has that manly quality that makes him appealing to both male and female audiences.
The other characters are also good. I’ve read reviews that say Saffron Burrows is wooden but I felt she played her part well and is well cast as a former model who gets caught up in a scandal.
The film has a fun retro feel taking us back to 1970s London and its T-Rex theme tune will instantly catch you.
There are some pretty tense moments mixed in with some pretty good one liners that make the film what it is. It isn’t overly violent or over the top nor is it a comedy but what we do get is well balanced.
The Bad
As much as we love to see Statham’s fight scenes the one is this seemed a little silly as he was fighting someone a lot bigger than him and it as if it was written into the film just because of who he is. There will be those on the other hand who don’t really care who he was fighting, again because of who he is.
There was sex scene between Statham and Burrows cut from the film. This wouldn’t have been a problem if it hadn’t been for a scene later on in the film when them having sex is referred to and the audience is meant to assume that it happened after a kiss which we do see.
My View
All in all The Bank job is an enjoyable film which works well on many levels. It is pretty much a mans film but isn’t violent enough to put off women who will be attracted - Report as inappropriate
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- Verity said...
- Posted on Mar 01 2008 16:33 This film was brilliant! I went with 5 other 16 year olds and my 18 year old sister, and we were all stunned into silence afterwards! It was amazing, and you had to hold your breath from suspense in some places! This is a must see film, and all based on a true story. What more could you want?!
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- Bundle said...
- Posted on Feb 23 2008 17:32 Brilliant! I am a female and am not really one for the cinema but I was hooked from beginning to end - funny, realistic, sexy, etc!!! Yet another British film - just a shame they are so far and few between. An all rounder, my 70-year-old Nan to my 12-year-old brother would love it. Easy, complex, interesting, not to hard to follow and the best bit is that is it is based on a true story.
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Cast & crew
Director: Roger Donaldson
Cast: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, James Faulkner, Peter De Jersey, David Suchet full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Rated: R
Duration: 110 mins
US Release: Mar 7 2008
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