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Bookmark this pageThe 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 London
Bank robberies – especially those perpetrated using high levels of ingenuity, cunning and skill – may be questionable, but they don’t half make a good read, or in this case, a great subject for a film. Roger Donaldson’s reenactment of a little-known London safe-deposit robbery in 1971 plays like an elongated, light-hearted episode of ‘The Sweeney’. It’s not surprising it has a televisual feel, mind, given that the screenplay is by ‘Porridge’ and ‘Likely Lads’ writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.
Resident hardnut Jason Statham usually plays violent characters who excel at notching up high body counts. Here, he’s in much more subdued mode as a dodgy but peaceful car dealer who is approached by old flame Saffron Burrows to join a team on an audacious bank heist involving tunnels, lookouts, walkie-talkies and millions of pounds worth of private safedeposit contents.
According to the film, one of the bank’s deposit boxes contained photographs of a royal princess caught in flagrante delicto by a member of the Black Panther Movement. Could the robbery have been set up by members of the British establishment keen to avert a major embarrassment?
David Suchet’s smarmy porn king notwithstanding, no prizes will be handed out for acting. And there are far too many characters and subplots to get a decent handle on. But the robbery is tautly mounted, it all looks authentically old fashioned, and there are a few nuggets of amusing dialogue amid the occasional violence, sexual debauchery, political corruption and overall hedonistic atmosphere.
Author: Derek Adams
Time Out London Issue 1958 Feb 27 – March 4
User reviews of this film
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- usman khawaja said...
- Posted on Apr 16 2008 12:09 stunning job -about royal smut -mr.fahed will cheer this for sure
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- usman khawaja said...
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Posted on Apr 16 2008 12:08
stunning job that mrfayed will be watching -for sure,
royal princesses having orgies in tropical islands ,bent cops ,corrupt ministers in london brothels,M15 in all its cospiratorial glory and shady deals between robbers and the ESTABLISHMENT,these are some of the intriguing yet spell binding premises of this slick british thriller ,which also comes at the time of princess dianas infamous death inquest which has opened a pandoras box and made the british judiciary and establishment look silly and villainous .
statham is good but burrows as the mole implanted by the british beaureacracy,[ who instigate the robbery to retrieve the compromising royal porno ,not knowing the hornets nest lying in the bank vault] ,is absolutely top-notch and as the glamour model gives a real good performance .
whether a d8 was issued or not is besides the point ,i dont believe a fif what the establishment say or not after the egregious ruses they have played on us with WMD,MENDES MURDERAND THE DIANA INQUEST-i am ready to believe this because it is rather benign in comparison to cold -blooded murder and thats what our establishment has coldly and callously done in a calculated manner without even following any protocols .
if someone is washing the dirty laundry in public -well and good ,i applaud them whole-heartedly.
its really donaldsons crisp script and execution that hold you and what is implicated is enormous by just implicit intent ,as it virtually shows the whole lot to be a dirty bunch with not a single honest soul ,the small time robbers look like angels ,the hierarchy is evil ,all ready to sell and deceive anyone.
vogel is the least of the villains as the london mafia man who has half the london cops on his paycheck,as the movie even implicates LORD mountbatten as a co-conspirator ,
this is smashing cinema in technique and content ,the facts are so vividly related and the narrative is so smooth with the camera so calmly following aturbulent bunch ,that you cant help but be totally charmed by this true life thriller ,
very well done and deserves full marks for its bold subject and veracity ,
i am sure mr.fayed will be watching this movie and cheering it too, - Report as inappropriate
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- Sue H said...
- Posted on Apr 15 2008 10:21 Went to see this last night (14/4) mainly cos there wasn't much else on and it looked the best of a not do good bunch. WHAT A FANTASTICFILM! We thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like british movies then this is for you. Will def buy on dvd.
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- Joe K said...
- Posted on Apr 13 2008 17:14 What a top film! Jason Statham may be a 'One trick Pony' but he excells in this kind of role - Throw back to the seventies and it goes to show why 'Life on Mars'was so successful - The jokers on this site who say this is rubbish must want their heads looking at!
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- Gary said...
- Posted on Apr 08 2008 09:14 A complete farce! The only moments of comedy came from the dreadful acting and 70's haircuts. I'm on crutches at the mo having broken my foot, it was too dark for me to hop down the stairs and make my escape mid flick. I'd rather be a chinese human rights activist than endure this garbage again. Pure torture.
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- Clare Hopkins, Hampshire said...
- Posted on Apr 03 2008 18:48 What a brilliant film , best film I have seen in years , in parts decidedly funny, greatly refreshing, and certainly got my brain thinking afterwards.
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- Alex said...
- Posted on Apr 01 2008 11:26 FANTASTIC FILM!! Why on earth did Time Out only rate it 3 stars? I loved the film, had good twists to keep you interested all the way to the end, a really interesting plot, superb acting, This film gets the full 6 stars from me!
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- Jacqui said...
- Posted on Mar 28 2008 18:19 What a fabulous film. I loved it from start to finish. I thought the acting was excellent and the music was outstanding. Can't wsit for the DVD.
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- Rob said...
- Posted on Mar 28 2008 15:54 I lasted about 40 minutes and left after the people next to me left as well - this is the worst example of British Film Making, cheap, trite, no intelligence, no sense of occasion, and clearly no money. This would look bad even on channel 94 when theres nothing else on except the 95 re run of an Eastenders episode. - Dont go - do something more useful with your money than to give it to these wasters.
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- lucy said...
- Posted on Mar 28 2008 14:30 really enjoyed this film-my boyfriend made me go see it, but i really enjoyed thought it was an exciting film. didnt expect it to be so good! would recommend it
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- Malcolm said...
- Posted on Mar 26 2008 17:37 Really please we ignored the less the glowing Time Out review, if you cant follow the sub-plots - all of which are part of the whole (truish apparently) story line then try engaging your brain. Well worth the trip, go see it if you like to watch a film, not just look at one.
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- Dr Al said...
- Posted on Mar 26 2008 14:34 A mixed bag - a woeful beginning with the scene being set so blatantly and flatly delivered that we may as well have had a voiceover giving potted biographies. But pretty soon picks up the pace and the plot is less predictable than I'd feared. As for its rating, 15 seems entirely appropriate - colourful language, topless women, and the occasionally brutal violence is not dwelt upon, the worst bits happening off camera. Not one to take other members of your family to, but a lad's film most ladies won't object to, and the best thing on at my local this week.
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- rob x said...
- Posted on Mar 26 2008 09:53 Very good. A tangled plot but very clear. Exciting, moving, intelligent and funny. Good British film-making. Worth a look.
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- N said...
- Posted on Mar 25 2008 19:36 Went to see this film last night and really enjoyed it, will defo be buying it when the dvd is released. Tho i also thought it should of been an 18 as quite violent and some very strong language.
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- v said...
- Posted on Mar 25 2008 16:36 great movie.. really enjoyed a happy ending..lol
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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: 15
Duration: 111 mins
UK Release: Feb 29 2008
US Release: Mar 7 2008
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