rating:
(out of
4 stars)United Kingdom; 2008
Directed by Roger Donaldson; produced by Steve Chasman, Charles Roven; written by Dick Clement, Ian Lafrenais
Starring Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, James Faulkner, Alki David
Within its genre, the heist-film that is, 'The Bank Job' works pretty well. It tells us the whole story, especially heist and aftermath, and both parts are engaging in their own way. Although based on a true story, it does get predictable from time to time. Still, the energy, especially from Jason Statham, and the pretty tight script make sure it gets never boring and shows some cleverness as well.
Statham is Terry, who is tricked into a heist by Martine (Saffron Burrows). The goal is a vault of a bank containing safe deposit boxes. Revealing photographes of a member of the royal family are in one of those boxes, and Martine needs those. She cut a deal with a secret agent after she was caught smuggling drugs. Terry suspect things, but agrees with the heist. Together with his team Terry rents the place next door to dig a tunnel.
Whether the heist succeeds or not os for you to discover, but the film is not over after the heist is. Some members of Terry's team may have seen more than they were supposed to, also from other boxes. The sequences dealing with these events seem to fit a new film, but they as at least as entertaining as the heist itself, which is able to create suspense in ways many other films fail.
'The Bank Job' understands the genre a lot better than other recent examples (including 'Ocean's Thirteen'), since it knows not all things will go as planned. It also understands that it does not always need to be a bad thing. You should not expect greatness, but more films should be as easy to watch as this one. The material before the film was made has turned into the best possible product. That's quite an achievement.