The Italian Job


Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Seth Green, Donald Sutherland, Jason Statham, Mos Def
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Crime, Thriller
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Awards:
The Movie Files Movie Championship II: Sweet Sixteen

Summary: A perfect gold robbery in Italy is pulled off, but one member of the group (Edward Norton) doublecrosses the team, killing the veteran leader (Donald Sutherland). A few years later, the new group leader (Mark Wahlberg) recruits the old leader's daughter (Charlize Theron) to get back the gold.

Review:

Tim: This is one of those films that might have been tremendous had it not been for the movie trailer. The trailer played constantly before the film came out and again frequently when it came to video and DVD. The problem is, the trailer shows absolutely everything that happens in the movie from start to finish. There are no surprises in the film. If that wasn't enough, the movie is fairly predictable as well. It has a very one-dimensional plot.

The Italian Job does have good characters and good acting by an excellent cast. I really like heist movies as well, but it was fairly difficult to really enjoy this movie. It is a clever but not spectacular movie.

It is hard to explain exactly what was wrong with this movie. In many ways, it is a good movie. However, something just feels off or missing. As a result, it is not as good as it could or should be.

Out of the great cast, I like Edward Norton the best. He plays great good guys as well as bad guys and he does a good job here as the bad guy. He's thoroughly unlikeable, which is perfect for the role.

All in all, The Italian Job is simply not clever enough, doesn't have enough action, and is just a mediocre film. Also, much was discussed about the Mini Coopers at the end of the movie in the car chase. Frankily, I am not impressed with either the cars, the chase sequence, or the people that focused so much time and energy on it. Perhaps if everyone concentrated less of this and more on the film's shortcomings, this could have been a better film. There are better heist movies out there.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Score, Ocean's Eleven, Entrapment, The Truth About Charlie, The Transporter, Ronin