We haven’t had a good, old-fashioned, popcorn heist flick
for a while. But, no fear, The Italian Job is here to
entertain us with that campy, predictable structure that we
couldn’t live without. The ensemble cast features Edward
Norton, Mark Wahlberg, Donald Sutherland, Charlize Theron,
Seth Green, Jason Statham, and Most Def. Most of these
performers walk through there roles, but this doesn’t affect
the final cut of the film a tad. The Italian Job has
everything a movie of this genre needs: great chase scenes,
cool, unheard-of technology, the big names in Hollywood, and
those loveable Minis that stroll around the streets at raging
speeds. With all of these elements, I don’t see how anyone
could possibly complain—I’m definitely not.
A remake of the 1969 Peter Collison
film, The Italian Job is a faithful and entertaining
rendition. The movie opens to the city of Venice, where master
heist man John Bridger (Sutherland) and his team steal 35
million dollars in gold. Their execution of a flawless plan
was successful, and the team thought that they had pulled it
off. But, when one of their own (and thought to be trusted)
member, Steve (Edward Norton), double-crosses them—it becomes
a much different story. Steve nabs the gold and kills John,
while the rest of the group is defenseless, trying to escape
the same rapid fire that killed their leader. After Steve
escapes successfully, and the rest of the group gets off of
the scene safely, the plot takes us to Los Angeles. This is
where Steve had been hiding with the gold. The rest of the
group, along with John’s daughter, Stella, must take back all
that’s rightfully theirs from Steve.
The action here is some of the best
of the year, even though the chase sequences can’t quite
surpass those of The Matrix Reloaded. The stunts are
well-choreographed, and have a distinctly cheesy likeability
to them. A lot of this is the work of Director F. Gary Gray,
who should be commended for his many daring attempts on The
Italian Job. The action is what makes this film so fun,
and the fact that it’s well done is a blessing. I was
thoroughly entertained by this film, and the reason it was so
enjoyable is because it was well-made. There were no
distractions caused by poor direction or production. When
viewing The Italian Job I leaned back in my chair,
threw kernels of popcorn into my mouth, and was amused by
almost every frame of footage that was dispensed by the
projector.
Most of the actors and actresses
walked through their roles, but two performances stand out
among the pack—Green’s and Theron’s. Green is very funny, and
the humor his character offers us is perfect; its execution
still stays true to the way that it was used in the original
film, but the jokes are different, and of a more modern taste.
His performance pretty much flawless, for what it suits.
Theron is probably the strongest in the movie; her performance
is the most effective. She is very laid-back, and we have a
good time while watching her character. Theron is, without a
doubt, very sexy in this movie, too. Her execution of the role
of Stella Bridger is pitch-perfect, and she helps The
Italian Job, as a whole, immensely.
An excellent way to kick off the
summer, The Italian Job is a proficiently involving
heist flick that’s much better than the average release. The
action in first-rate, and entertains for the entire duration
of the film. Theron and Green deliver the best performances,
and even though the rest of the cast walks through their
roles, The Italian Job thrives on the tremendous energy
of them—not the quality of their interpretations of the
characters. I’d take a movie of this quality any day, and I
hope there are many more like it, throughout the rest of the
summer.
-Danny, Bucket
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