These days the heist movie has become a genre that Hollywood can’t seem to get enough of. What Hollywood hasn’t noticed, however, is that a caper film is only as good as the concept behind it and the people who pull it off and THE ITALIAN JOB gets this right and it works.
Mark Wahlberg stars as Charlie Croker, the mastermind of a robbery of $35 million in gold bars from a vault in Venice, Italy. The rest of his team consists of safecracker John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), inside-man Steve Frezelli (Edward Norton), computer nerd Lyle “Napster” (Seth Green), demolition man Left Ear (Mos Def) and getaway driver Handsome Rob (Jason Statham). Everything goes as planned and it’s the perfect heist until Steve doublecrosses the rest of his team, steals the gold and leaves the others for dead. The film then picks up a year later and Charlie has tracked Steve to L.A. with nothing but revenge on his mind. So, he assembles the members of his team that survived the double cross plus John Bridger’s daughter, Stella (Charlize Theron) and launches a plot to get even.
The cast isn’t exactly as stellar as that of OCEAN’S ELEVEN. So what! The movie itself is better! THE ITALIAN JOB is exactly what one looks for in a summer action film. It’s thrilling, fast paced, character driven, and very funny…thanks mostly to Seth Green. Oh, and it’s not a sequel! Okay, so it’s a remake but it’s not a sequel. THE ITALIAN JOB is made up of all new characters that we’ve never been introduced to onscreen together before and it pays off.
F. Gary Gray directs from a Wayne and Donna Powers written script, skillfully combining humor with engaging action! Now, F. Gary Gray also recently directed the Vin Diesel film, A MAN APART, which was, what else can I say, one mess of a film. It’s hard to believe even that THE ITALIAN JOB and A MAN APART were directed by the same man let alone by the same man back to back. But like he was with THE NEGOTIATOR, director F. Gary Gray is back on his feet. While he disappointed me with A MAN APART, he redeemed himself with his latest effort. This is a film that I think a wide variety of people will enjoy no matter their age or background. THE ITALIAN JOB is an action-packed thrill ride that comes out fast and never slows down.
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"The Italian Job defines summer movie watching, it's light-hearted, fun, and has great action sequences" ByJD
"The humor is sophomoric, the action is rehashed from better movies, and everything else is bland and formulaic." ByDave Brennan
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