Rating: 6/10
Review date: September 8, 2003
A gang of thieves pulled off a heist worth $35 million in Venice. One of the team members betrayed his colleagues and took off with the gold. One year later, the team decided to get their revenge on the traitor while using the opportunity to enrich themselves along the way�
The Italian Job is remade from a 1969 British film starring Michael Caine. However, the result is a so-so flick that managed to entertain but doesn�t offer anything memorable in terms of execution and characterization.
The movie takes awhile to get exciting (after the initial heist), mostly focusing on the gang planning how to exact their revenge on the backstabber. This period of lull in the movie mostly shows the gang members interacting with each other while cracking some jokes that are also quite funny but soon get boring when nothing really engaging happens to keep me interested.
I actually like the musical score since I feel that most of them hit the right tune at the right moment. The other thing I like is the mini Coopers which looks kind of cute.
The casts are not too good with the gang looking very lifeless and lacking enthusiasm in getting their job done. The worst of all is Edward Norton who acted as Steve Frezelli (the backstabber); he is very expressionless in the movie and he looks as if he is about to doze off anytime throughout the movie. Perhaps it is due to his unwillingness to be involved in this movie but he was forced to do so (one way or another) because of contractual obligation with Paramount Pictures.
Stella Bridger (Charlize Theron) is a professional safecracker who was convinced to join the gang because her father, John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), was murdered by Steve. She doesn�t bring much persona into the movie which left me with the impression of her being an obligatory eye candy for the audience.
Handsome Rob (Jason Statham) is the ladies man with nothing much to offer except trying to look and act cool (similar to his previous movie, The Transporter).
Mos Def (Left Ear) and Seth Green (Lyle) are also forgettable although the latter one has a Napster joke which was funny initially but gets a bit repetitive and annoying at times.
The Italian Job could have been a better movie. It�s too bad the actors/actress failed to breathe some life into their characters thus making them look boring. Director F. Gary Gray used music to perfection and did what he can do with the very few action scenes; the best one being the final chase scene in the subway tunnel.
*Trivia*
Keep a lookout for Spider-man in one of the scenes.
The man taking out a disk when Lyle was napping is Shawn Fanning, creator of Napster.
Memorable quote: �I trust everyone. It's the devil inside the person I don't trust.�
-Charlize Theron as Stella Bridger-
(c) Martin Taidy 2003