The Italian Job

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Ocean's Five. John Bridger's gang of thieves are double crossed and left for dead after a daring gold raid in Venice. The surviving members regroup and convene in L.A. to enact revenge and recapture their gold … the job is on! This could have been a complete disaster, I'm British and the wave of revulsion that boomed in my homeland upon hearing of this remake was explosive; "how dare they remake a British institution" was the cry. Things were not helped in the run up to the film's release by main star (and draw card) Edward Norton, proclaiming that the film was a contractual obligation and that fans of his work would be better advised to give The Italian Job a miss... Had to be a stinker then surely? Actually no it isn't. Director F. Gary Gray hasn't remade the "Italian Job" of 1969, in fact he hasn't even re-imaged it, the minis are in there, the gold is in there, but all the stand out moments so beloved by many in the 69 film of the same name are not to be seen at all. So what we get is a very cool heist-come revenge movie, that's maybe a tad too glossy at times, but it has got a pretty sharp script, tight action sequences and a group of actors working very well as a team. Mark Wahlberg, Mos Def, Jason Statham, Seth Green and the delectably delicious Charlize Theron all come out smelling of roses, whilst Edward Norton really had no cause for concern because his portrayal as Steve is a smarmy delight. I have jokingly titled this film "Ocean's 5", but that is in no way detrimental to "The Italian Job", it lacks the jazzy coolness of "Soderbergh's Ocean's 11", but it's a fun and enjoyable picture all in its own right, thus the rating of just under 7 IMDb is actually spot on. 7/10

Aside from carrying through the "Bridger" name (and he had nothing to do with the robbery either, being incarcerated during Her Majesty's pleasure), this has nothing at all to do with the 1969 film of the same name. This is just an excuse to assemble a decent cast, and have some fun. To that end, it works OK. A gang of clever thieves plan end execute a daring heist to steal a great deal of gold from an house in Italy. On their way out of the country, though, they are betrayed and left for dead in an icy reservoir. Spin on a year, and our gang - minus their leader Donald Sutherland ("Bridger") have tracked down the traitor, and are determined to get their loot back. It's quite a charismatic effort this - Jason Statham as "Handsome Rob"; Seth Green as they nerdy "Lyle" and Yasiin Bey "Left Ear" work with well the daughter of their murdered comrade "Stella" (Charlize Theron) to mastermind and execute this audacious theft. Sadly, though - Mark Wahlberg is pretty charm free, as is Edward Norton and the film takes far too long to build up anything like enough pace to get it interesting. The last twenty minutes are quite exciting, but for my money it was all too little too late. Good looking production, though - pity even the minis could not spice it up.

**The Italian Job is a cool, sleek action-packed film with a fantastic cast and incredible stunts.** The Italian Job achieves the impossible - making mini coopers cool! With a cast filled with stars from Mark Wahlberg to Jason Statham to Charlize Theron, this high-paced, high-energy film oozes swagger and awesomeness. This close-knit band of thieves is on a mission of revenge to steal from the man that betrayed them all and murdered their leader. With the moral high ground and proper motivation, these characters become that much cooler and are that much easier to root for as they break the rules in pursuit of their quarry. The stunt driving and camera work meld together perfectly to create a stunning high-octane movie that is exciting, fun, and worth seeing again and again.

Seen this one a few times over the years and still holds up as a light-hearted and fun heist-thriller. The ensemble cast with Wahlberg, Theron, Green and Mos Def, all have great chemistry. A shame the planned sequel never came to fruition, though surprised Paramount hasn't attempted to do one even if they could only bring back a couple actors like Wahlberg and Theron. Still distracting watching Norton knowing he was forced into doing this movie. And maybe sacrilege but I prefer this one over the 1969 original. **4.0/5**