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The Bank Job |
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 Inspired by the infamous 1971 robbery that took place at the Lloyds Bank in Marylebone London, LIONSGATE's ® THE BANK JOB stars Jason Statham (TRANSPORTER, SNATCH, CRANK, THE ITALIAN JOB) and Saffron Burrows (KLIMT, ENIGMA). The highly-charged heist thriller tautly interweaves high-level corruption, murder and sexual scandal in 1970s England.
A car dealer with a dodgy past and new family, Terry (Statham) has always avoided major-league scams. But when Martine (Burrows), a beautiful model from his old neighborhood, offers him a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London's Baker Street, Terry recognizes the opportunity of a lifetime. Martine targets a roomful of safe deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry. But Terry and his crew don't realize the boxes also contain a treasure trove of dirty secrets - secrets that will thrust them into a deadly web of corruption and illicit scandal that spans London's criminal underworld, the highest echelons of the British government, and the Royal Family itself...the true story of a heist gone wrong...in all the right ways.
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People Movie Review
The Bank Job
Donna Marie Cox |
90 |
The Bank Job tells the story of a group
of friends who rob the vaults of a bank
in London. Terry played by Jason Statham
is approached by an old friend, Martine,
played by Saffron Burrows who claims to
know someone in security who has told
her that due to a problem with the
trains setting the alarms on they will
not be on for awhile. He soon persuades
his friends to join in with the robbery.
What they do not know however is that
Martine's friend does not work in
security. He actually works for the
Government and wants them to retrieve
damning photos of a member of the Royal
Family from Michael X, a troublesome
Jamaican
activist.
The robbery goes ahead but not without
its problems and they manage to get
away. However things get nasty when it
emerges that a Soho porn king/gangster
also has incriminating evidence in the
vault and things turn nasty as he tries
to get it back.
The Good:
The script is based on a true story
which always makes interesting viewing.
It briefly made headlines and then
disappeared due to a Government D
notice, gagging the press for 30 years.
This gives the film an air of mystery
about it as we know we are watching
things the Government and police would
prefer us not to know about and a bit of
scandal involving the Royal Family is
always a winner and this (apart from
Jason Statham) is what I think will
mainly appeal to American audiences as
they always seem interested in things to
do with the British Monarchy.
The characters are fun and well liked.
Jason Statham is in a role he seems very
comfortable with. It is rather similar
to the parts he had in Lock Stock and
Snatch which had a down to earth realism
about them. There are some rather heart
warming scenes between him and his
little girls including one where he is
dancing with one at a friend's wedding.
We do also get to see him in action as
well and although his character is
likable he still has that manly quality
that appeals to both male and female
audiences.
The other characters are also good,
particularly the rather comedic Dave
played by Daniel Mays and Saffron
Burrows is well cast as a former model
who gets caught up in scandal.
The film has a fun retro feel taking us
back in time to 1970s London and its
T-Rex theme tune will instantly catch
you.
There are some pretty tense moments
mixed in with some pretty good one
liners that make the movie what it is.
It isnt overly violent or over the top
nor is it a comedy but what we do get is
pretty well balanced.
The Bad:
As much as we love to see Jason
Statham's fight scenes the one in this
seemed a little silly as he was fighting
someone a lot bigger than him and it was
a sif it was written in the film just
because of who he is. There will be
those on the other hand of cause who
dont care who he was fighting, again
because of who he is.
There was a sex scene between Jason
Statham and Saffron Burrows cut from the
film. This wouldnt have been a problem
really if it hadn’t been for a scene
later on in the film when them having
sex is referred to and the audience is
meant to assume it happened after a kiss
which we do see.
My View:
All in all The Bank Job is an enjoyable
film which works well on many levels. It
is pretty much a man's film but is not
overly violent enough to put women off
who will be attracted to the drama and
scandal as it is a true story. |
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Director: Roger Donaldson
Writer: Dick Clement
Ian La Frenais
Genre:
Thriller
Duration: 1hr 51mins
Staring: Jason Statham
Saffron Burrows
Stephen Campbell
Daniel Mays
James Faulkner
Alki David
Michael Jibson
Producer: Steven Chasman
Charles Roven
Distributor: LIONSGATE
Rating: R for sexual content, nudity,
violence
and language.
Release Date: March 7, 2008
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