"The Bank Job" movie review

This week we’re taking a look at the heist flick, The Bank Job (R). Inspired by true events, The Bank Job takes place in the early ‘70’s in London, England. A group of second-class criminals are contracted to break into a safety deposit vault. Unbeknownst to them, the British Secret Service is pulling the strings on the operation for their own ulterior motives. Jason Stratham and Saffron Burrows star in the movie.

Ryan: Traditionally the best heist films (The Getaway and Reservoir Dogs—come to mind) are those that don’t rely on the actual heist to propel the story along. Admittingly The Bank Job is not on the same level as those two above-mentioned movies but it is a solid entry into the genre. That is mainly because the movie is not just about the pulling-off of the crime. The consequences of the crime are as important (if not more important) to the development of the narrative than the mechanics of the heist.

Andy: I've always had a problem with the prevalence of heist films. I find it strange that an event that makes up such a minuscule proportion of actual life would have such a vast genre of films in Hollywood. But the likely reason that they keep getting made is that a good heist film can be full of suspense, action, drama, and end up wildly entertaining. The Bank Job comes as close to putting it all together as any heist movie that's been made in the last few years.

Ryan: Jason Stratham has made a healthy living making mid-budget action flicks. This role in The Bank Job is a departure from his usual parts. He more than shows that he can aptly handle material that doesn’t rely on him beating people up. He doesn’t have a lot of dialog but that’s not to surprising as the traditional action movie stars normally say more with their facial expressions than with their speaking voice.

Andy: I've now seen no Jason Stratham movies that don't include the word “job” (The Italian Job being the other) which is surprising, given his notoriety in the action genre. I was startled to not see him partaking in more action for the first hour or so of the film. What was more surprising, I guess, is that he was doing a pretty good job. This movie doesn't really ask much of its star, but Stratham is able to be a likeable, believably tough everyman that the audience is going to at least root for a little bit.

Ryan: The Bank Job does have a few issues working against it. The movie is unable to keep up the snappy pace established in the first act. Regrettably the picture does have a slightly out-of-place feel- good vibe at the film’s resolution that is not in tune with the outcome of the movie. The biggest question mark on the film is its accuracy. The entire reason for the heist as orchestrated by MI5 is to recover (compromising and embarrassing) photographs of then Princess Margaret. To this day, it is unclear if the motivation for the crime (and the photos themselves) is indeed based on fact.

Andy: I would agree that the tone of the film is a little uneven. At the beginning it seems like a good-natured bumbling heist film, but after a while it turns (unexpectedly) violent. Then the end as that awkward good vibe that Ryan was talking about. I did enjoy how much this feels like not just a movie about the 70s, but from the 70s.

The Bank Job is a very entertaining though somewhat flawed heist film that stands up pretty well against the paltry competition in theatres right now. Final grade: B.