The Bank Job
|
List Price: Our Price: $1.35 You Save: $8.63 (86%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Bank Job
Movie Review: Entertaining Period Thriller with Plenty of Suspense and Intrigue.
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Bank Job" stretches the truth of the 1971 heist of Lloyd's Baker Street Bank in London into a smart, entertaining political thriller. Ex-model Martine Love (Saffron Burrows) is having a fling with MI5 bureaucrat Tim Everett (Richard Lintern) when she lands in hot water over a drug charge. In exchange for her freedom, Martine convinces some old friends that the safe deposit vault at Lloyd's is ripe for the picking. Terry (Jason Statham) is a slightly shady car dealer with a history of small-time crime and a shine for Martine. Kevin (Stephen Campbell Moore) is a photographer ex-boyfriend, and Dave (Daniel Mays) and old pal. Together, they plot and execute a £4 million heist, but, unbeknownst to the thieves, the real danger lies in the secrets, not the money, that the safe deposit boxes hold.
"The Bank Job" is a blend of fact, speculation, fabrication, and real events that have been connected in a highly speculative fashion. The bank robbery did happen more or less as presented, but there was apparently a D-notice issued by MI5 several days later that forbid the press from speaking further of the crime for reasons of national security. Even stranger, the thieves were eventually caught, convicted, and served prison sentences, but all in secret. Their names have never been revealed. Because no one knows who they are, the characters in the movie are fictional. The real robbery was certainly not orchestrated by MI5, who need only present a warrant if they want access to a safe deposit box, but the agency does seem to have taken an interest after the fact. The idea that photos of a frolicking royal were at the heart of the matter is based on secondhand information, and speculation about a connection to Michael Abdul Malik is due to his having a box in that Lloyd's vault.
The "based on a true story" tag in the movie's logo is misleading, but there were some strange and bewildering aspects to the Lloyd's Baker Street Bank robbery which remain mysterious to this day. "The Bank Job" takes the speculation, ties it all together with some pure fiction, and creates a top-notch political thriller with great 1970s period atmosphere. It's all very cynical toward government and law enforcement, and, in that way, perhaps it reflects the mood in 1971 and 2008 as well. Honorable thieves, corrupt cops, hypocritical security services and politicians, raunchy royals, sex, violence, greed, sleaze...this movie packs it all into a tight, suspenseful package. I'm surprised "The Bank Job" didn't do better at the box office. With plenty of intrigue and thrills, i's the best movie I've seen so far in 2008.
The DVD (Lions Gate 2008 single disc): The single disc edition includes 2 featurettes, a feature commentary, and a theatrical trailer. "Inside the Bank Job" (16 min) is a making-of documentary that interviews director Roger Donaldson, writers Ian Le Frenais and Dick Clement, producers, cast, and some crew about the film's tone, locations, production design, story, and the large cast. "The Baker Street Bank Raid" (15 min) is about the real robbery. The ham radio operator who picked up the thieves' transmission is interviewed, as well as some historians, journalists about the robbery and the suspicious aspects of the case. There is a feature commentary by director Donaldson, actress Saffron Burrows, and composer J. Peter Robinson. It's a constant commentary but not very focused or informative. Subtitles for the film are available in English and Spanish.
Movie Review: The Bank Job: Not Your Typical Bank Heist (or Jason Statham) Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I really enjoy heist movies; the take and the target, the colorful characters, and the inevitable plot twist all make for a great story. It was with these expectations that I went into "The Bank Job," whose title spells heist movie if there ever was one. What I found, however, was a heist movie dedicated not to an elegant robbery, but instead to retelling one of the most elaborate coverups of the 20th century.
Set in 1970s London, the movie's central plot revolves around scandalous photographs taken and held as blackmail by an unpopular civil rights activist. Believed to be located in a safe deposit box in the vault of a Baker Street bank, British officials seek to recover the photographs by indirectly hiring disposable thieves to break into the bank.
While these photographs are introduced as the primary conflict, the movie's overall plot is made far more complex through the introduction of other side characters who bring with them their own individual interests. Such a large number of characters and a diversity of stories operating simultaneously might normally bog a movie down, however, "The Bank Job" largely avoids doing this by lightly bouncing between its many individual conflicts, and by slowly allowing its characters to develop. By the end of the movie, what was supposed to be a typical bank heist movie instead becomes much more.
Jason Statham stars as Terry, an amiable middle class mechanic. When presented with what he believes to be a no-risk, high reward opportunity, Terry assembles a crew of equally opportunistic amateur thieves to pillage a London bank of its untold riches. Each of these characters is the make-up of a colorful personality one might expect to find in a heist movie, and it is because of these personalities that the movie functions the way it does. High tech gear is replaced by shovels and a very loud jackhammer; keen criminal intellect is replaced by humorous ignorance. These characters are after nothing more than the quick score that the job will provide, and as such it is only Terry that begins to suspect that his team's involvement might have larger, more dangerous ramifications.
By the end of the movie, Terry and his crew of misfits find themselves at a standoff with British government officials, a ruthless kingpin, and crooked cops, all wanting what's theirs.
Jason Statham performs admirably in this movie. Rather than the fearless, physical action star he's cast as in many of his other movies, in "The Bank Job" he by contrast is a much more normal character mixed up in abnormal circumstances. He is the central figure in this movie, and it is his dialogue and actions that largely drive most of the second half of the movie.
"The Bank Job" is a heist movie like no other, whose plot involves much more than a "get rich" scheme by its main characters. Instead, through a series of overlapping stories, the movie develops as a cool, intelligent retelling of an event still largely shrouded in myth. This movie is a must-see for those who love heists, intelligent action sequences, and an unpredictable series of events.
Movie Review: Everything `The Italian Job' should have been...
Summary: 5 Stars
I almost want to copy and paste the review provided by the site here because it kind of says everything I want to say.
Seriously though, this movie is `cheerful, energetic, and completely entertaining'.
Based on a true story, `The Bank Job' revolves around a heist that serves up so many twists and turns it's almost unbelievable and yet it all works so believably well. Splicing together tidbits of information in a creative and engaging way, the film brings a 70's feeling of funk and joviality without ever losing the films harsh and gritty edge. You root for the bad guys because there are obviously even `badder' guys running amuck here, and you hold your breath in suspense because you truly never know how things are going to end up.
Set in the early 70's, the film tells of a group of amateur criminals who get conned into an `easy robbery', robbing a bank that will be unprotected for a short period of time. The problem is that they what they are there to steal is property valued by many people (governmental and criminal) and when you toss in some corrupt police you have an `easy robbery' was winds up being much harder than expected. When all is said and done, these petty thieves find themselves in far over their heads when all sides come in on them at once.
Oh, but what fun it is to watch.
The best thing about `The Bank Job' is that it never loses sight of its purpose, which is to entertain. It is fun, 100% of the time. It layers the scenes with an intensity that is masked with a veneer of spunk. The performances are totally felt and in keeping with the films pace and humor (I think it's safe to say that this is Jason Statham's best film and best performance). The films hodgepodge of sequences layered to create a patchwork of storytelling comes of spectacularly, leaving the audience scratching their heads just long enough to get them to pay close attention.
There isn't much more to say here. I loved this film and I'd be reaching if I looked for a notable flaw.
Movie Review: Friskily Frolicking
Summary: 5 Stars
Mick Jagger earns a few honest dollars as a clerk in The Bank Job. This is just one interesting detail in a movie that overwhelms you with details. The acting is sound, the direction is excellent, and the plot keeps your interest. There are several bizarre twists and turns. It's filmmaking at its best.
It's based on a true story, the robbing of a London bank in 1971. Director Roger Donaldson pointed out in the DVD commentary that he researched court transcripts and visited actual locations. The robbers tunneled under the bank, broke into the vault, and looted scores of safe-deposit boxes. They grabbed a fortune in cash and other valuables, much of which was never claimed because it was dirty.
But it turns out that the boxes also contained incriminating photos involving the Royal Family and a ledger that documented massive police corruption. So, it was not the "simple" heist that the thieves had planned. They are pursued by powerful and vicious people.
The robbers are a motley crew of petty criminals who were tricked into the heist by Martine Love (Saffron Burrows). She made a deal with the government in order to escape prosecution for a drug bust. If she can get those nasty photos she will walk. So, she recruits Terry Leather (Jason Statham), a former lover who runs a shady used car operation that is deeply in debt to a loan shark. The tough and resourceful Leather puts together a band of hoods who are oddly innocent and loyal to each other. Leather and a couple of the others come off as rather solid family men. They seem to be "blokes" who want a big score to escape tedious lives.
There's some of that distinctively droll British humor. It's made clear that the British mind-set differs markedly from our Wild West mentality here in the colonies. And the film leaves you contemplating a titillating question that has never been answered. Was that Princess Margaret friskily frolicking in the Caribbean?
Movie Review: Awesome and then some
Summary: 5 Stars
Coinciding with the DVD release, a review in the Wall Street Journal suggested that this was a superb film. And it IS a superb film but for reasons far different than what I anticipated - since the review was not exactly going into many details. [Aside to the reviewer who complained about "sex" - duh, where? I abhor those kinds of scenes and there was merely suggestiveness in this film rather than the boring full-blown sex that passes for "entertainment" these days. Although I will concede that a couple of the violence scenes were not my cup of tea; I am not much into violence but it was easy to ignore the minor incidences because they did not go overboard and were not gratuitous in showing violence at every turn like one so often sees in films these days.]
One great thing about this movie is that everything is totally believable and realistic...you could actually imagine the things (good, bad, idiotic and otherwise) actually happening! An excellent portrayal of people's pressure points - and why sometimes their actions are not driven from within but from without. In spades. It was just delightful from beginning to end in the characters whose stories were told.
I am a foreign film buff and this film is more in line with that type of film than the awful stuff that passes for "entertainment" from Hollywood.
By the end of the film, I was really hoping that the last scene(s) were true. It was nice to believe, but one never really knows which parts are truly close to the fact and which are fiction for the audience to enjoy. It did nail the 70's so brilliantly that I thought I was back reliving those days again - even though it was Britain and not the US.
Another bonus is that it managed to portray corruption a la LA Confidential, so if you liked that movie, then you will also enjoy this one - probably enjoy it more than LA Confidential because it is more believable from beginning to end.