In it's own small way "The Bank Job" attempts the same trick that the writer James Ellroy pulled off so well in his fine novels "American Tabloid" and "The Cold Six Thousand". That is, to weave a connected narrative from matters of public record (the Baker Street Walkie-Talkie heist and subsequent D-Notice, the disgrace of certain Conservative government ministers due to sex scandals and the fall of the criminal Michael X) and public rumour (the indiscretions of Princess Margaret, the involvement of Lord Louis Mountbatten in British intelligence operations and the true extent of police corruption and involvement with certain London based porn barons of the early seventies). It works, kind of. The problem with "The Bank Job" is that it takes too long to get going.
During the first half of "The Bank Job" there is a definite whiff of seen-it-all-before ennui. The job is instigated, the team is assembled, the job is pulled. Pretty unrealistic, so-so, anaemic stuff, frankly, with variable acting. (Whoever told Saffron Burrows that she can do 'cockney'?)
Then suddenly, during the second half, writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais rediscover the form they had when they wrote the brilliant early 70's Richard Burton vehicle "Villain", and "The Bank Job" becomes really entertaining, gritty, seedy, violent, fast moving and complex. Shame it wasn't like that from the start.
Nice, slightly out of character performance by Jason Statham, who only has one real 'hardman' moment. Fun, extended cameos from a galaxy of jobbing British character actors. Peter Bowles, Keeley Hawes and David Suchet, amongst others. See if you can spot Colin Salmon. I didn't even realise he was in the movie until I read the credits.
In retrospect, probably a missed opportunity, and it should have been better, but "The Bank Job" is still worth seeing if you have the patience to stick with it. It does get better as it goes along.
During the first half of "The Bank Job" there is a definite whiff of seen-it-all-before ennui. The job is instigated, the team is assembled, the job is pulled. Pretty unrealistic, so-so, anaemic stuff, frankly, with variable acting. (Whoever told Saffron Burrows that she can do 'cockney'?)
Then suddenly, during the second half, writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais rediscover the form they had when they wrote the brilliant early 70's Richard Burton vehicle "Villain", and "The Bank Job" becomes really entertaining, gritty, seedy, violent, fast moving and complex. Shame it wasn't like that from the start.
Nice, slightly out of character performance by Jason Statham, who only has one real 'hardman' moment. Fun, extended cameos from a galaxy of jobbing British character actors. Peter Bowles, Keeley Hawes and David Suchet, amongst others. See if you can spot Colin Salmon. I didn't even realise he was in the movie until I read the credits.
In retrospect, probably a missed opportunity, and it should have been better, but "The Bank Job" is still worth seeing if you have the patience to stick with it. It does get better as it goes along.