Efeito Dominó

I'll be honest, I only saw The Bank Job because I had some free tickets for an advance screening, had I have not got these tickets I would not have bothered seeing it. The only trailer I had saw for it just didn't really appeal to me, I do enjoy Jason Statham movies, but this one seemed a bit serious in my eyes. Still I went today to the 6.30 screening and was surprised to enjoy it quite as much as I did. Admittedly for the first half hour I did get quite bored, the characters weren't really memorable and the set up seemed really dull. Thankfully when the heist gets under way, and especially the aftermath, the movie hits top gear and left me thrilled. The fact the movie is based on a true story still leaves me quite amazed, as the events that happen seem purely like the stuff that you see in the movies. How much of it is real and how much of it is purely to make it a better movie, a fight involving Statham I am certain didn't happen. The performances are surprisingly well rounded, Statham doing a brilliant job and the majority of the supporting cast getting some great scenes. Alas the movie does start to fall apart under close inspection, the plot is never concluded quite as well as I would have liked, and the movie does have some long stretches where not a lot is happening. If you can overlook this fact then you will a lot to enjoy in this very well made movie.

So onto the performances. As I have said Statham does a surprisingly admirable job in the film. When you look at his CV of films you realise he isn't exactly the most talented actor. In fact all he generally has to do is grumble and hit things a lot. But there is just no denying that the man has a hell of a lot of charisma, in this film he truly gets to display his acting skills. Of course on occasion he delivers a dodgy line, but then if you watch some of the smaller scenes with his characters wife you realise how much potential he has. If given the right material I am sure Statham can truly develop as an actor. Saffron Burrows is brilliant as the slightly suspicious Martine for the first half, unfortunately after the heist she has little to do and the character never felt fully concluded. Still she does have some great moments in the earlier part of the film. Daniel Mays runs off with the majority of the movie as Dave, in fact this looks set to launch Mays career a bit further, he has the best lines and is a funny character. Richard Lintern (who I have to confess I thought was Dougray Scott for half the film) is brilliant as the man behind the heist, in some way that is, and his character is one of the most rounded. Peter De Jersey as Michael X is menacing in his all too brief screen time, but like Martine his character never felt fully dealt with. Still he and the other chief villain, David Suchet, are quite menacing.

The Bank Job when advertised does come across as a typical gangster flick with a lot of humour in it. However when watching it I have to be honest and say it isn't that funny. There are a couple of lines here and there but the movie doesn't really make you laugh that much. Neither is it that big of a gangster flick, of course there are the local gangster running around, and the movie becomes more along that line towards the end. But for the majority of the film it comes across as a slightly grittier and far less flashy Ocean's Eleven. The scenes where they try to rob the bank are definitely some of the highlights, however its the final 45 minutes that stick firmly in mind. What happens after the robbery is just thrilling to watch, will they get away with it, won't they? Things also get a lot darker near the end, also quite violent one scene, or the idea of what was going to happen, made me wince a bit. The film is superbly directed as well, its not too flashy but there are some great shots in there. Unfortunately the music does start to irritate after a while, everything seems overdone, a scene which is meant to be funny is ruined because the music sounds like its from an action movie, it just doesn't truly suit the film all the time. Also as previously mentioned the beginning as well is quite boring.

Overall The Bank Job is a great movie that with a bit of fine tuning at the beginning could make it even better. If you want a smart thriller that will surprise you because of it being based on real events that I highly recommend this. Don't expect an all time classic though.

If "The Bank Job" were fiction, it would be a fairly decent robbery caper. As it is, "The Bank Job," a veritable documentary and realistic whodunit, is awesome.

Unlike most films, this one requires a couple of advance tips: First, watch it with the improbable idea in mind that most of it is actual, hard-to-believe truth; second, don't be impatient. As the story of a 1971 bank robbery begins, the setting in London, the parade of seemingly unconnected stories and characters is rather confusing, complex, disjointed. But stay with it - there is a crescendo of excitement and excellence.

The true elements of "The Bank Job," some hidden until recently by Britain's "D Notice" censorship law (modified in 1993, becoming DA, or Defense Advisory) are these:

1. A big bank robbery did take place on Baker Street in 1971, culprits never found, money never recovered. After initial big headlines, the story disappeared from the newspapers.

2. There was serious police corruption in London in the 1970s, cops on payrolls of drug dealers and pornographers.

3. Princess Margaret was involved in a series of affairs, some caught on compromising photos which were not published by the otherwise relentlessly sensational British press, under the D-Notice rule.

4. There was a militant British black-power advocate, called Michael X, involved in a one-man, multi-country crime wave. (In 1971, John Lennon paid for Michael X's bail, something not mentioned in the film.)

"The Bank Job" director Roger Donaldson (of "No Way Out") brings together all these true threads in a way that may be true even in its totality, director and cast prevailing over some shoddy work from too many writers.

The content is all true, the context is excitingly possible. Did the government, in trying to prevent exposure of Princess Margaret by evidence in Michael X's possession, mastermind the bank robbery? Was MI-5 or MI-6 (says a policeman in the film: "I never remember which is which") involved, and actually assisting the robbers? Again, possibly.

The cast is remarkable: Jason Statham is the ringleader, the bad guy of "Transporter" and "The Italian Job" turning into a scourge of the really bad guys. Saffron Burrows, James Spader's vamp nemesis on "Boston Legal," brings her remarkable name and looks to the criminally and emotionally ambiguous major female role.

Peter De Jersey is a totally scary Michael X; David ("Poirot") Suchet is a frightening crime lord; and a whole host of top British stage actors fill in big roles and small ones. Don't be misled by reviews speaking of a so-so thriller - "The Bank Job" is a great deal more than that, even to the point that you may want to see it more than once.

The Bank Job is a good-old caper film both in narrative and execution, made by filmmakers who were trying to recapture not only the aura and atmosphere of the 1970s London, but also to a large degree the production values and tone of classical narrative films of the said period. And the result is a tight, entertaining and to a large degree stimulating film with enough strings to pull and a decent knowledge of how and when to pull them. The direction by seasoned filmmaker Roger Donaldson is dependable, and the large cast of characters work well to drive the narrative forward as if the film was a high-scale BBC production. Despite an alleged royal scandal, some clever twists and an insipid love triangle, The Bank Job will probably not stay with you for very long, but it delivers on what it promises while it's there.

I also saw this film at an advance screening. I don't normally watch any of the trailers before going, so tend to go in with an open mind. I was very pleasantly surprised, and while it perhaps won't win any Oscars, I thought it was well acted in the main with some faces you'll recognise. It might not have massive appeal outside the UK, however it is a good (based on fact) story. I'm not a massive fan of 70's music, but it wouldn't have done any harm to have a bit more in the background just to give it more of a seventies feel about it. The general mood of the film was good and for me seemed to set the scene well, without going overboard with sex or violence. On the whole, it's well worth a visit, even if you have never lived in that era.

I expected this movie to be somewhat entertaining, and maybe a bit cheesy. After all, it's not difficult to muck up a heist movie. However, this film gets it all right. The acting is top notch, the story is not only engaging and clever but TRUE (!), and the experience of seeing it is thoroughly enjoyable.

The only complaints I have of the film are that the characters do get a little cheeky from time to time (but hey, they're British, so it's kind of expected), and there's a couple flashbacks/lapses in time that are initially confusing - although everything is clearly laid out about halfway through. Want to see a good movie? Check this one out!