Thanks for checking out our Bank Job Review. Feel free to also view the video version of this review at the bottom of the post.
I became a big fan of Jason Statham after watching “Snatch” (still one of my favorite movies of all time). At the time though, I didn’t really think we’d see him pop up in anything else. Thankfully I was wrong, and Statham has grown to become one of the only legitimate action stars in the business today. So when I heard about “The Bank Job”, I was instantly curious in the project. The fact that it’s based on some true events also intrigued me.
THE GENERAL IDEA
From the official synopsis: “Inspired by the infamous 1971 robbery that took place at the Lloyds Bank in Marylebone London, Lionsgate’s ® ‘The Bank Job’ stars Jason Statham (‘Transporter,’ ‘Snatch,’ ‘Crank,’ ‘The Italian Job’) and Saffron Burrows (‘Klimt,’ ‘Enigma’). The highly-charged heist thriller tautly interweaves high-level corruption, murder and sexual scandal in 1970s England.
A car dealer with a dodgy past and new family, Terry (Statham) has always avoided major-league scams. But when Martine (Burrows), a beautiful model from his old neighborhood, offers him a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London’s Baker Street, Terry recognizes the opportunity of a lifetime. Martine targets a roomful of safe deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry. But Terry and his crew don’t realize the boxes also contain a treasure trove of dirty secrets – secrets that will thrust them into a deadly web of corruption and illicit scandal that spans London’s criminal underworld, the highest echelons of the British government, and the Royal Family itself…the true story of a heist gone wrong…in all the right ways.”
THE GOOD
Jason Statham is great in this flick. No, he won’t win any Oscars for it, but what he brings to the table was perfect for this role, and he delivered exactly what he needed to. He carries a subtle toughness, a lot of charm, and some decent comedic timing that allows the film to be funny at times. One of the things that impresses me about Statham is his ability to not even look like he’s acting. He never looks forced to me, and in this film he does the same.
Saffron Burrows is delicious. She’s one of those actresses that every time I see her pop up, I wonder why she hasn’t made it “BIG” yet. I’ve always liked her just about every time I see her… and although this doesn’t speak to the quality of the movie or her acting it needs to be said…. DAMN THIS WOMAN IS HOT! And believe me, she carries that “hotness” like a sword in this flick. Very real, yet sultry in her casualness. The accent doesn’t hurt either.
The pace of the movie is fantastic. Always moving, alway progressing and always pushing the story forward. A great pace helps gloss over minor weaknesses in a film and keep the focus on the story. Like I always say, pace doesn’t mean speed, it means progression. This movie certainly isn’t the fastest moving one I’ve seen this month, but it does a solid job of keeping the focus on the story by always moving it forward. Even when it lingers for a while it does so with a point.
It’s funny. This is not a comedy by any stretch of the imagination, but the film delivers some well timed and pretty effective laughs along the way.
THE BAD
The film doesn’t exactly have the deepest plot in the world. It’s a pretty simple and straight forward story that has you almost wishing it would throw in some sort of twist that could take it to another level, but that twist (not the M Night Shamhammer kind) never comes. The movie is a sort of WYSIWYG movie. It’s all laid out for you right there on the surface, and from the first 15 minutes of the flick you know exactly where the movie is going to go. No real surprises, no real depth.
The “heist” part of the film was a bit of a let down. I love heist movies… the planning, the execution, the unforeseen obstacles that have to be overcome and then the payoff. The Bank Job presents itself as a heist movie, and to a degree it is… but not a very good one. The “heist” was very straight forward and honestly pretty anti-climatic by the time it’s finished. Also, the “heist” only comprises about the first half of the film.
I hate to say this one… but it does beg to be said. The Bank Job feels like a poor man’s version (and slight rip off) of “Snatch”. As a matter of fact, the movie even has its own version of “Brick Top” in it. I’m not kidding… there is this villain in the movie that is a sort of mob boss, who talks like, acts like… and hell is even made to LOOK LIKE Brick Top from “Snatch”, and that put me off a little.
OVERALL
Even with the weaknesses mentioned above, The Bank Job is a fun and entertaining time at the movies. Jason Statham is his usual charming self, the pace of the movie is terrific, it’s funny, at times exciting and generally pretty damn satisfying. It’s no “Snatch”, but that’s ok. Overall I give The Bank Job a 7 out of 10.
You can check out our video version of The Bank Job review here:
If you’d like to put this video on your facebook/blog/myspace/web page, you can grab the YouTube version here.
