The Italian Job (2003)

Director: F. Gary Gray
Screenplay: Donna Powers and Wayne Powers (remake of the 1969 film of the same name; based on the book by Troy Kennedy Martin)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, Donald Sutherland
Music: John Powell
Time: 110 minutes
Bottom-line: Nothing special; just another caper film

Gary Gray’s 2003 action heist film comes with a good lot of action sequences and some interesting heist methods, but I guess after watching so many other such films, The Italian Job is "just another addition" to that list. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, Edward Norton, Donald Sutherland, Mos Def and Seth Green.

Wahlberg as Charlie and Theron as
Stella

Venice: John Bridger (Sutherland), a professional safecracker, organises a heist to steal 35 million dollars worth gold bullion from Italian gangsters. His team includes Charlie Croker (Wahlberg), “Handsome” Rob (Statham), Napster (Green), Left Ear (Def) and Steve (Norton). The team heads towards the Alps, where the members plan on what they will use the gold for. But soon, Steve turns the tables around when he “makes a few plans of his own”, as he and his men intercept the truck, take the gold and kill John Bridger. A year later, the Charlie’s team joins hands with Bridger’s daughter Stella (Theron), a vault technician, who is determined to take revenge on Steve for murdering her father. Whether or not the team is successful is what the film is about.

Mos Def as Left Ear (left)
and Statham as Rob

The film brings together an interesting cast, but the acting wasn’t significant, except for the performance of Edward Norton. Barring few exceptions like Ocean’s Eleven, most heist films just require the actors to do “something technical” that looks cool to the viewers, mostly because they cannot understand anything the actors are doing! Here too pretty much the same thing happens – the part we do understand is when the crew members just drive around in Mini Coopers! Only Norton is impressive by playing the manipulative antagonist, and he continues to be an excellent, versatile actor. His best line is when he casually says, “I liked what you said. I'll take one of each of yours” (when they plan on how to spend the money), and then goes on to actually do it.

Sutherland as John Bridger

Till the scene where Steve double-crosses the gang, The Italian Job is a caper film; beyond that it is pretty much a revenge film. We see how Crocker gather resources and hatch plans to spy on Steve and eventually snatch the gold back from him. It looks odd because usually revenge tales consist of one or two heroes battling against a bunch of villains but here it is the exact opposite. So the expected level of suspense or thrill is not there; beyond a point it becomes obvious that Steve is going to lose, so I was expecting at least some excitement or twist despite the obvious victory.

Seth Green as Napster

The action sequences are as usual, highly ridiculous, but refreshingly entertaining. The boat chase through the canals of Venice and the car-chopper chase on the streets of LA are superbly filmed, by cinematographer Wally Pfister (who later became much more popular after collaborating with Christopher Nolan). I liked the few bits of humour the actors throw in too; they didn’t seem out of place but rather merged well with the situation. That said, if you want a good heist film I’d still recommend Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven, but if you must watch The Italian Job, Norton’s splendid acting is something to look out for, even if nothing else seems to match your expectations.

Norton as Steve

My Rating: 2.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 73%