The Bank Job on DVD (2008)

* * * This review contains spoilers * * *

CashOnTheNail from Manchester [Highly rated reviewer] , 24/03/2008

Shifty car-dealer Jason Stantham [Transporter], harassed to repay loan-shark, is approached by Saffron Burrows [Perfect Creature] to rob the security-boxes stored in the basement of the Marylebone branch of Lloyds Bank. Saffron, in turn, is the victim of corrupt officials planting drugs in her luggage forcing her to recover incriminating-photographs held by Jamaican drug-dealer & pimp Colin Salmon [Freeze Frame] with the help of her known underworld-associates. MI5... seeking 'clean hands' wants nothing to do with the recovery of photographs though lends asistance from-a-distance.

Unbeknown to Jason & his crew, the haul of cash... contains photographs of politicians in compromising-positions with hookers, pay-off [e.g., corrupt Met' Police officers] book held by sleezy strip-club owner David Suchet [Executive Decision]...

Seperated Muslim friend was embarrased by scenes of nudity & confirmed her teenage-kids [youngest 14, eldest 19] would not get to see the DVD; 15-rating should be considered 18 if you are in any way prudish or offended by violence.

  66 out of 71 people found this review helpful

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PaulaWestwood from Ashton-Under-Lyne [Highly rated reviewer] , 07/03/2008

Theres something about these British robber films, like this and The Great Train Robbers etc' that just have an atmosphere - something less violent than our U.S. counterparts, but menacing nevertheless. And this one is no exception, as it captures the period superbly. The whole thing is fantastic as a film in its own right, but the fact that it is a 'let the cat out of the bag' based on real events film makes it all the more interesting and worthy of a watch. Put that with the fact that Jason Statham has had parts like these in a bag for some time now, and again does not let us down, this is well worthy of a watch.

  52 out of 53 people found this review helpful

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Martin77 from PLYMOUTH [Highly rated reviewer] , 02/07/2008

not exactly awful ( apart from Saffron Burrows who can't act her way out of a paper bag ) but all in all this was so poor that I switched off before the end. Not remotely authentic though there was a good story in there shouting to be let out. You could put 2 or 3 episodes of The Sweeney or Minder back to back and they would have been better than this feeble effort.

  34 out of 36 people found this review helpful

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A customer from SW London , 09/03/2008

This is one of the best British movies I have seen in ages! What makes it more interesting is that it is based on true events. To say that is a bank heist gone wrong, but actually not is an understatement. Simply because this wasn't just any straight forward bank job. For details I would strongly recommend that you watch the movie, it will be worth your while! As far as the robbers are concerned, except for about 3 members or so who couldn't escape the snatch of death the rest of the robbers are probably the luckiest thieves in history having got away with their freedom and money. What's even more amazing is that these thieves were amateurs of the worst kind: you have to be to think of using walkie talkies while robbing a bank!!!!Clueless!

  30 out of 30 people found this review helpful

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HullsRaven from Hull [Highly rated reviewer] , 19/07/2008

I really enjoyed this film. The storyline was brilliant as was the acting. and some of the scenes are pure magic. I find no faults with the film what so ever. Stratham is certainly at his best.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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gepete80 from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 13/08/2008

Its probably a bit wrong of me, but I can rarely watch a Jason Statham film with out remembering the good old days of Lock Stock and Snatch. The time when good ole Jase, armed which his cockney wit and comedic timing was able to make you crease with just a mere mention of ‘Sie Germans’.

Then Hollywood got a hold of him and in the style of Samuel L. seemed to take every movie thrown at him no matter how low rent it might have been. Granted there were a couple of good steps including the vastly underrated Cellular, a show stealing performance in Mean Machine and a nice cameo giving Tom Cruise his briefcase in Collateral (which knowing Michael Mann meant he had to get in character and research for 5 months just for his 20 secs of screen time). However clangers where also apparent including the godawful Transporter series (They’ve made 3!!!! HOW?!?!?) and an uncredited peek-a-boo in The Pink Panther.

When I first saw trails for the Bank Job it looked as if Statham was returning to his roots, back to the heady heights of the good ole days. Based on a true story set in London 1971, Statham is Terry Leather, a car salesman saddled with a few debts and unwanted attention from a local shark. Terry is approached by an old acquaintance, Martine (Burrows) who tips him off to a potentially lucrative job robbing a bank near Baker Street. However all is not what it seems as Martine has her own reasons for wanting to get into the vault. The story also intricately involves a local pornographer, some bent coppers, a Trinidadian thug and one or 2 branches of the UK clandestine services.

On the face of it that could almost have been the script for Lock, Stock all over again, however this film is actually quite seriously done. There are a couple of chuckle moments but nothing as laugh out loud as a Guy Ritchie number (and that includes Swept Away. That whole thing was a laugh…). Obviously this is due to the ‘true story’ aspect of the picture. It is unique in that the plot here had been subject to a 30 year gag order, and this picture attempts to address the reasons behind the heist and supposes the motivations of each of the parties. Whether these were the real motivations is a little murky but if true would explain why the original ‘innocent’ job turned into the life or death situation that it did.

The film is a fairly solid one, with a decent premise and strong cast, including a surprisingly different turn from David Suchet as the pornographer, going somewhat away from his famous Belgian detective. Theres also some decent support from former British soapstars Craig Fairbrass and Georgia Taylor. However the film lacks a certain edge which could have made it a gripping crime thriller. The movie lacks a degree of urgency and is directed in the manner of a simple narrative rather then a complex multi-layered story, which is a shame as it certainly had the potential to leave audiences tantilised and involved. I also found the editing at some points to be fairly poor, especially near the end where some quick cutting between characters was completely unnecessary.

The movie is still a decent watch and while it would have been nice to hear a few wisecracks a la Turkish, it was still a decent effort from Statham, even though the character didn’t really give him too many challenges. Certainly one to add to his good films repertoire.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

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