The Bank Job

Friday March 7th at the movies. For me the choices were 10,000 B.C. or Jason Statham's new flick The Bank Job.

The plot:

A car dealer with a dodgy past and new family, Terry (Jason Statham) has always avoided major-league scams. But when Martine, a beautiful model from his old neighborhood, offers him a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London's Baker Street, Terry recognizes the opportunity of a lifetime. Martine targets a roomful of safe deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry. But Terry and his crew don't realize the boxes also contain a treasure trove of dirty secrets - secrets that will thrust them into a deadly web of corruption and illicit scandal that spans London's criminal underworld, the highest echelons of the British government, and the Royal Family itself.....

I was in the mood for some action and grit. So I opted for this Statham flick.... and didn't get it. I found that by the time the movie had ended, all the action in the film, was in the movie trailer. This movie plays more like a Ocean's 11 movie with out the wit or charm. It's a British bank heist movie with Jason Statham playing a clever average guy. No super heroics in here or Transporter like car chases.

Having said that, it wasn't a bad movie. It just plays straight. No fancy camera work. No snappy dialog. No stand out performances. It's just an average movie relating actual events. Not a movie that requires or makes any use of a big screen or a big sound system. The same can be said for many comedies. But those films are often made better by a vocal audience. There was nothing in this movie for an audience as a whole to get excited about.

My only REAL gripe was when the action finally happened in the last 10 minutes. It seemed out of place. Up until that point, Statham was playing an every man type. But then in the finale he takes on at least 4 guys at the same time in a fashion more appropriate to his Transporter character. It was a great sequence, but not right for this 'safe' movie.

I would suggest this movie to those who like heist films with some twists and to those who like seventies thrillers when flat performances were king.

A good movie. But forgettable.