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The Bank Job

(2008) Action - Rated R

Directed by: Roger Donaldson

Starring: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows

Overview: In 1971 a car dealer and his gang of thieves tunnel into a London bank vault.

RATINGS:

  • The Bank Job

    In 1971 London, a car dealer (Jason Statham) and his gang of thieves break into a bank vault and find far more than cash and jewelry.

    Reviews

    REELZ REVIEW
    "An intriguing true crime telling of one of the most unbelievable bank robberies in history. Heist movies wi..."  [more]
    — Jeff Otto

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    • JULIUSLOVE1979

      03/06/08 05:47 PM
      LIFE IS VERY VERY PRECIOUS THAN MONEY.
      Review Rating: 0
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    • Jeff Otto

      ReelzChannel.com, March 06, 2008


      An intriguing true crime telling of one of the most unbelievable bank robberies in history.


      Heist movies with preposterous plots are nothing new in Hollywood. Movies like Ocean's Eleven, The Italian Job or The Getaway are about entertainment rather than reality. They are fun-to-watch, lighthearted crime flicks, but no one thinks too deeply about the reality of their plotlines.


      The Bank Job might just be the most preposterous heist film ever made. And yet, with a few liberties here and there, most of it really did happen.


      The Bank JobBack in 1971, a ragtag group of part-time criminals received a tipoff about a potential score at a bank on Baker Street in London. The plan was to tunnel into the vault and raid the safety deposit boxes. They communicated via radio signal with an outside lookout and the transmission was intercepted by a local ham radio operator. He contacted the Scotland Yard who attempted, without success, to thwart the robbery in progress. As it turned out, there were a number of items housed within the vault worth far more than money. From papers belonging to the mob to pictures of Parliament in an S & M brothel and, oh yeah, photographs of Princess Margaret involved in a series of sexual indiscretions with men and women. This was big, embarrassing stuff for England, forcing a gag order on the press that has pretty much kept the details under wraps ever since.


      In this retelling, Jason Statham plays Terry Leather, the group's de-facto leader. He hears of the job from former flame Martine Love (Saffron Burrows), who wants to join in on the heist but is also concealing some key details about where she learned of the score. The supporting cast includes Daniel Mays, James Faulkner, Richard Lintern and Michael Jibson, The Bank Job is directed by Roger Donaldson (Species, The Recruit).


      Sometimes reality is far more entertaining than fiction and that is the strength of The Bank Job, a decent enough heist flick that entertains but would probably be quickly forgotten if it weren't for the utterly fascinating story from which it draws its origin.


      The Bank JobDonaldson's retelling starts slow as the story sets itself up. Unlike most heist flicks, the planning of the heist isn't really that important. The heist itself is decently executed, but the true crux of the story revolves around the fallout from the heist. From this point on, The Bank Job picks up steam. Sadly, the inconsistent Donaldson never truly succeeds in elevating the movie above tride and true heist flick territory despite the fantastic material he's got to work with.


      Statham is at home playing the same simple, slick con man he's played about a dozen times before. Surprisingly, he spends far less of this film with fists flying and more time jawing and mugging for the camera. Although the part isn't exactly a stretch for the actor, it's nice to see him carry a part without high kicks or a piloting a black Audi's racing across parking garages.


      Saffron Burrows is still gorgeous and those looks serve her well enough to overshadow a ho-hum performance as "the girl." Sure, there's a more complicated back-story where her character, Martine Love (is that name for real?), had a previously fling with Terry and Terry's wife is none-too-keen about their business venture and so on, but it's not a terribly important or compelling plot point.


      The Bank Job is good, but not great. If the first half were as strong as the second, it would be an easy high recommendation, but as is, it's just a moderately entertaining heist movie that is probably better as a rental (or download) than being worth your $10 bucks at the theater. You could do worse (especially this time of year), but don't expect to be riveted from start to finish. Personally, I'm more interested in learning more about the actual story of the Barker Street heist.


      ReelzChannel Rating:  7

    • JULIUSLOVE1979

      03/06/08 05:40 PM
      DEAR KIND FRIENDS.
      I LOVE USA AND ALL NATIONS.
      LIFE IS VERY PRECIOUS.
      PLEASE ASK THE US GOVERNMENT TO FIX THE MINNEAPOLIS CENTRAL LIBRARY BROKEN TITANIC ROOF PILLARS FOR HUMAN LIFE SAFETY.
      WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE OUR MOVIE STARS ON EVIL CORRUPT BRIDGES.
      WHY THE CHEMICAL ATOMIC REACTIONS;CRACKING ETC OF THE PILLARS?
      PLEASE SAVE USA FROM 3 RD WORLD NUCLEAR WAR?
      PLEASE INVESTIGATE.
      MINNEAPOLIS.MINNESOTA 55404.
      NICOLLET AVENUE??3 RD STREET?DUNN BROTHERS COFFEE?
      A TRUE WITNESS SAVES LIVES.
      PRINCE JULIUS NGANGA MWANGI.
      I LOVE USA. AND ALL NATIONS.
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    • JULIUSLOVE1979

      03/06/08 05:42 PM
      A SMALL CRACK IN A BUILDING CAN LEAD TO A NATIONAL DISASTER.
      A SMALL HOLE IN A BIG TITANIC SHIP CAN SINK THE NATION LIKE A BROKEN TITANIC PILLAR LIBRARY.
      LIFE IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN BIG MONIES.
      Review Rating: 0
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    • JULIUSLOVE1979

      03/06/08 05:43 PM
      WHY HAS THE GOVERNMENT REFUSED TO HELP?
      PLEASE HELP STOP HIGH CLASS CORRUPTION AND CHILD ABUSE.
      Review Rating: 0
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    • JULIUSLOVE1979

      03/06/08 05:47 PM
      LIFE IS VERY VERY PRECIOUS THAN MONEY.
      Review Rating: 0
      Characters remaining:
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    • thehawkzerozero

      03/10/08 04:48 PM
      This is a movie you need to watch from the beginning. It starts out slow but builds to be quite good, tough to follow all the involvements the people have until the end, so go to the bathroom before it starts because you need to see how each person gets involved into the plot, but it does build to a very good ending, which had me wondering which way everything would evolve
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    • curby

      05/01/08 04:59 PM
      do u kwow wat it gonna start and how long is it ?
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  • Crew

    Director Roger Donaldson
    Producer Steven Chasman
    Producer Charles Roven
    Executive Producer George McIndoe
    Executive Producer Ryan Kavanaugh
    Executive Producer David Alper
    Executive Producer Alan G. Glazer
    Executive Producer Alex Gartner
    Executive Producer Alan Glazer
    Executive Producer Gary Hamilton
    Executive Producer Christopher Mapp
    Executive Producer Matthew Street
    Executive Producer David Whealy

MOVIE NEWS

Monday, March 10

Friday, March 7

  • Exclusive Interview with Bank Job, Dark Knight, Flash Producer

    We have an exclusive interview today with producer Charles Roven, whose impressive credit list includes 12 MonkeysThree Kings and Batman Begins, just to name a few.

    We caught up with Roven recently at the press day for The Bank Job. The interview took place only days after the passing of Heath Ledger, whom the producer worked with on The Dark Knight, so the mood was a somber one. He discussed the future of the Batman franchise, the upcoming Flash movie and his new heist flick, The Bank Job.

    The Flash has been rumored for years, but now it is finally going forward with director David Dobkin. Dobkin is the director behind such comedies as Fred Claus and Wedding Crashers, so some Flash fans are worried about a tongue-in-cheek adaptation similar to 2004's Starsky and Hutch. Roven says not to worry:

    "We think that we've come up with something that's going to separate it from other superhero movies..." says Roven. "We want it to be something different and we think we have that. It's going to have a different tone than The Dark Knight, but it's not going to be tongue-in-cheek. It will definitely be straight ahead."

    For more on The Flash, Dark Knight and Bank Job, check out our full interview with Charles Roven.


    Posted 03/07/2008 by Jeff

    Charles Roven | The Bank Job | The Dark Knight

Thursday, March 6

  • The Bank Job Review

    The heist flick The Bank Job hits theaters March 7th starring Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows.

    The movie is based on the Baker Street bank vault heist that took place in England in 1971 during which a group of part-time criminals unwittingly stumbled upon conpiracies involving Parliament and the Royal Family. The actual story has been kept under wraps for years because of a gag order on the press. It's a pretty wild story.

    Check out our Review of The Bank Job for the full lowdown on the movie.


    Posted 03/06/2008 by Jeff

    Jason Statham | The Bank Job

Wednesday, March 5

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