The Bank Job
Admittedly, the main reason I went to go see “The Bank Job” had less to do with the movie itself (though I was interested in seeing it), and more to do with just needing an escape, but not wanting to go into something I would necessarily have to think too much about reviewing. But like many good films, what can I say? This one didn’t make me think too much, but it did make me think I should review proper. Seeing as how entertaining it was, it seems only fair…
The film fudges with some of the facts no doubt, but it makes for a juicy yarn as well. Though the title makes it sound like a low-rent sequel to “The Italian Job,” director Roger Donaldson (“The Recruit,” “Thirteen Days”) keeps the film moving at a sharp pace that makes you hungry for more, though not at the expense of character. Along with “The Italian Job,” it’s one of the best recent heist movies not involved in the “Ocean’s” franchise. What makes it even better is that this actually happened.
Back in 1971, a prominent Princess in the British Royal Family was photographed in a compromising position (namely, on her back) by a black militant civil rights leader named Michael X (a potent Peter De Jersey), modeling himself after Malcolm X. He uses the pictures to blackmail a government looking to put him away, storing them in a safe deposit box in the rich side of London at the Lloyd’s Bank, a place suggested by a strip club owner with his own hands in political corruption. Off the books, Britain’s top-secret MI-5 agency looks to stage a heist to retrieve the pics so they can put Michael X away. Through the effort of MI-5 agent Tim Everett (Richard Lintern), using his lover Martine Love (Saffron Burrows) and her association with old-time London “villains,” the job comes to Terry Leather (Jason Statham), a former crook reformed by his loving wife Wendy (Keely Hawes) and children, though with some problems from the criminal underworld of his own. Figuring it could be good for him and his family, Terry agrees, and with a few friends and former associates, they take on the job. Where it heads next…I’ll leave that for the movie to explain.
Though it clocks in at a brisk 110 minutes, Donaldson and screenwriters Dick Clement and Ian Lefrenais do right by their story by not only keeping it at a break-neck pace, but also finding room for character development beyond the typical thriller’s capacity, revealing motivations and feelings you don’t typically see in this type of film. Of course, the story itself is enough to keep a viewer on the edge of their seat (the score by J. Peter Robinson effectively adding some dramatic weight), but that generally happens when the audience becomes invested in characters, and we do here. All the actors keep things interesting, with Statham carrying the heavy-lifting most effectively. After being lost in the dreadfulness of Uwe Boll’s latest cinematic disaster (“In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Seige Tale”) and being relegated to no-brainer actioners like the “Transporter” films, Statham is finally given a role with some meat, and he rips into it capably while also cementing his status as one of cinema’s coolest badasses. Of course, with such fine collaborators behind the camera, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised he’s finally found a role worthy of his time, and a thriller that actually manages to thrill. All I have to say is, it’s about time.
