Efeito Dominó

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!

Sold to the American public as another D-level action pic staring Jason Statham, "The Bank Job" is actually a crafty British heist flick based on an incredible true story. The screenwriters deserve credit for creating a serviceable script with so many intertwining stories based on little actual evidence, conjecture, here-say, and conspiracy theories revolving around royal and political sex scandals, militant Caribbean drug lords, undercover MI5 agents, bumbling crooks, crooked cops, and double-crosses and cover-ups. It could've easily been a confusing mess, but providing the viewer pays attention, "The Bank Job" gets the job done as crackerjack entertainment.

Though aptly directed by veteran Roger Donaldson, the film does suffer from an overly salacious opening ten minutes designed to grab the audience's attention, some shoddy editing, and an intrusively bad action-style music score. There's also an attention to 1970's period detail in the dialogue and clothes that comes across as caricature and adds an accidentally humorous undertone to the otherwise cold-as-ice affair. However, the details of the "truth is stranger than fiction" tale and the fun had by the ensemble cast make for a breezy way to spend a few hours.

Donaldson also has an eye for the ladies. Led by a smashingly gorgeous Saffron Burrows (looking like a European version of Michelle Pfeiffer circa 1992), the powerful women depicted in "The Bank Job" are far more than just eye candy. Statham is also fairly good as the head of the bank robbing crew, and when he finally throws a brick at a guy near the end of the film, it will put a smile on any action fan's face.

Things get tidied up a bit too nicely in the end, where it seems only the really villainous characters have to face justice, but before the credits role, there are a series of real-life epilogued details plastered on the screen that make the viewer realize maybe this all really did happen. Now that's a jolly good show.

Saw an advance screening of this 'True' British crime story last night. True is in inverted commas as apparently the basic facts are true but of course most of the story comes from the minds of the two writers that penned it.

Its an enjoyable film, good story, production wise nothing special; could be a made for TV movie, there wasn't much action surprisingly and the jokes were thin on the ground; a snatch copy it 'aint.

Good performance from Jason Stratham in his best screwed up, looking menacing while surprised face. Good supporting cast with many faces you will recognise (spot the Eastender) apart from a terrible performance from Stephen Campbell Moore who looked like he was on a comedy show. Thought it could have maybe done with a bit more music from the 70's, Just to cement home the era a bit more.

I wouldn't bother spending money going to see this at the cinema, unless maybe its Orange Wednesday 2-4-1, more suited to a DVD viewing or wait till it hits Film Four in a year or two.

Enjoyable, better than average British film, but no Oscars coming its way.

Film-making at it's finest.

Nothing loud and boisterous. No over-stylized cinematography, pointless set-pieces, cheesy dialogue, or over-flowing emotions.

A perfect example of why the finest movie-making talent in Hollywood is British. And possibly the best caper movie of recent times.

Had this been from Hollywood, every fine detail of the complex subtext in the story would have been blown apart. Instead, everything is under-played, the characters are superbly realistic and believable, and the script sharp as a pin. And the cast is a brilliant ensemble.

Worth many repeated viewings for the subtle humour and to get the most out of the twisting plot developements.

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.