The Italian Job

Movie Title: The Italian Job
Official Website (it might still work): The Italian Job
Rating (out of 10): 7
Reviewed By: Robin McFetridge
Buy the: Video/DVD \| Soundtrack
The Review:

I guess Hollywood is running out of ideas for decent action movies, because what looked liked a promising action film with cool chase scenes is really a remake of the 1969 film that used the screenplay by Troy Kennedy-Martin, who assisted in this film. In fact, this film contains so little originality that the cute little Mini Coopers used in the getaways scenes were picked because the original film also used the Coopers, even though Charlize Theron (Trapped) was too tall for the car (they had to remove the front seat and let her drive from the backseat). The Italian Job really is not all that bad, but when so much emphasis is placed on the characters creativity and originality, you would think director F. Gary Gray would hold himself to the same standard.

Donald Sutherland (Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within) whose role as safecracker John Bridger is very brief, starts the film off by calling his daughter Stella (Theron) to tell her he sent her something and it isn’t chocolate. This scene is from the trailer as Stella discovers her dad is in Italy getting ready for his big safe job, 35 million in gold bars. This heist was pulled off brilliantly, in fact it was so clever you would think all the law enforcement chasing them would have figured out what really happened. Steve Frezelli (Edward Norton, Red Dragon) broke into the building and is preparing while Bridger, Charlie Croker (Mark Walhberg, Rock Star), Lyle (Seth Green, Knockaround Guys), Handsome Rob (Jason Statham, The Transporter), and Left Ear (Mos Def, Brown Sugar) show up in the getaway speedboat. The plan was to use explosives, Left Ear’s specialty, and drop the safe through three floors into the speedboat with Handsome Rob, the driver, along with Lyle the computer expert. This was a fun chase scene like out of a Bond movie, but anyone could have figured out that a safe containing 35 million in gold bars that was falling through that many floors would be sure to have sunk that speedboat. Well as you guessed, the safe in that boat was a decoy and the real safe was at the bottom of the canal where Bridger and Croker were cracking the real safe and moving the bars into the real getaway vehicle. Then the guys were chatting about how to spend their share. Lyle, who claims to be the real inventor of Napster and his college roommate stole it from him, wants to buy a stereo system with speakers so powerful it blows the clothes off women. Handsome Rob wants this great classic car and Left Ear wants a home with a room just for his shoes. This is when we discover Frezelli has no plans, so he will have one of each of what the others guys want, which should be our first clue to the next event. The next event being Frezelli and his hired men pull up in a truck, steal the gold, shoot Bridger, knock the truck off the bridge and sink it with the guys inside. To be sure, Frezelli fires bullets into the water, but remember those oxygen tanks used to crack the safe, well the guys share the two and survive. Well of course they survive or they couldn’t get revenge and steal the gold back. Which a year later is exactly what they plan on doing, but with the help of Stella, Bridger’s daughter. What they discover is Frezelli is living in Hollywood and has so much creativity and originality he couldn’t think of what to buy with all his millions, so he bought the stuff the other guys wanted. The real action begins as they plot how to get away with stealing the gold back.

This movie contains great chase scenes and plenty of comedy, but seemed to be trying too hard. The three BMW Mini Coopers in red, white and blue, was that the only colors to choose from, going in after the enemy to take back what was theirs. Oh and the predictable romance between Stella and Charlie was all to pretty of a package of an ending. Others in The Italian Job, were Christina Cabot, Franky G., Shawn Fanning, Gloria O’Brien, Simon Rhee, Evan York, and John Tobin. Overall this was a pretty tame film, the violence was minimal, the language was mild, and the sex was more sexual tension than anything else. Despite all this film’s shortcomings, it was creative, the whole Napster origin, the heists and its resolution. I gave this movie a seven on the About-Movies.com scale.