Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The BANK JOB

“The BANK JOB” (Jason Statham & Saffron Burrows)

Is not the kind of film you’d expect to see Jason Statham in – there are NO CAR CHASE SCENES! It is a throw-back to the 70’s, fitting the era in which this ‘based on’ true story takes place in London.
The plot focuses on the Royal Family attempting to avoid a national scandal by paying off a blackmailer who has come across nude photos of the princess having sex.
Saffron Burrows plays Martine, a woman who is enlisted to help Scotland Yard retrieve the photos after being caught trying to smuggle drugs. She approaches Terry (Statham) an old boyfriend/small time crook with a foolproof plan to break into the bank vault where the police have learned the photos are being kept. Terry & his crew know nothing of the actual reason they’re breaking into the vault but he becomes suspicious with Martine’s sometimes odd behavior.
Like I said, this is a throw-back film – it actually has a story & sticks to the plot without any extraneous explosions or special effects to enhance the visual aspect for no apparent reason. They use pick-axes to shovel under the vault & walkie-talkies to communicate with their outside look-out. So no, this is not a spectacular ‘man, you’ve got to see this!’ flick – it is a believable & interesting bank heist filled with intriguing characters.
I can pretty much guarantee you won’t feel as though you’ve wasted 2 hours of your life after watching ‘The Bank Job’... unless, of course, you want to see mindless car chases & senseless explosions...

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