The Bank Job | Two Word Heap

April 13th, 2008 | Kevin Forest-Smith

The Bank Job

Recently, I went to the movies looking for something entertaining and funny, yet a little serious. What better movie than one starring rugged and manly British star Jason Statham?

First, what needs to be known: This movie is based on the true tale of a group of amateur “villains” who robbed a bank in a heist that became known as the walkie talkie bank robbery. While the names of the characters were changed to protect the guilty individuals, I have to say the story itself was quite riveting. Not your usual “perfect plan” type robbery movie in which someone lets something slip, or a Harrison Ford type action hero is around to start a massive gunfight in which the only survivors are the white hats. No, this movie kept my attention entirely by showing me all the things that make a movie worth while: Boobs, bantering dialogue, boobs, a plan full of holes, boobs, some violence, and boobs.

As with most of the British films I have seen since I realized that Hollywood has stopped producing exceptionally worthwhile movies, the story itself is enough to bring me to see this movie. And I don’t need the promise of a big name and hardcore special effects. Along with a really good edge-of-your-seat, even-your-popcorn-gets-neglected-story was some fairly believable acting. I mean while Jason Statham seems to constantly play the morally rich bad ass, he still made watching this flick a lot of fun.

I’m not sure how much of the actual story this movie portrayed, but writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais really brought something visually and mentally stimulating to the screen with the help of director Roger Donaldson. It made this heist come alive and revitalized my almost overwhelming urge to be a part of some well thought out bank robbery of my own.

With a widely varying cast of actors coming together and showing that sometimes the best actors are the ones mainstream media has not gotten a hold of, I for one look forward to seeing more of Saffron Burrows and the rest of the supporting cast from this film in more roles, be it television or silver screen. As far as I am concerned, if you have ever liked heist films, or have never liked them, this one will be one for the collection. See it. I don’t care if you don’t like my review, see the damn film, it’s worth it.

Thanks for your time folks. I would toss this one in at 4 out of five stars…. maybe 5. But in an attempt not to over hype this film, I have decided NOT to tell you about many of the parts that could truly make this a five star film.

Thanks for reading.