The Italian Job Review

4 out of 5

Action, Crime

The Verdict

Thumbs Up: Highly Recommended

Anyone who loves a breezy heist movie with great car chases. It’s rated PG-13 for violence and language.

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Synopsis

Charlie Croker (Wahlberg) and his group of thieves pull off an amazing heist in Italy but then gets betrayed by one of their own. One year later, Charlie devises a plan to get payback on the traitor. It’s a grand plan and it will require them to use every trick in the book to get back their portions of the heist.

Spoiler Warning!!! Full Review Below

Full Review (Spoilers)

Producers: Donald D. Line

The Good

This movie was a fun re-telling of a classic story. There are plenty of touch points with the original film starring Michael Caine and the addition of a revenge plot device.

The stunts and action scenes for the movie was great.

The use of the Mini Coopers was awesome. The team was able to escape with these tiny cars. It fit well with trying to function in a very tight space and gave them plenty of secondary options.

The recreation of the falling safe was spectacular. They topped the first stunt from Italy with the safe falling through multiple floors unto the boat. The same stunt done in Los Angeles just raised the stakes. They had many factors to calculate and the addition of 3 trucks to pick the correct one.

The supporting cast in this movie was amazing. Each member of Charlie’s team played a pivotal role in the success of the payback heist. The chemistry between Left Ear, Lyle, and Handsome Rob was great. You could sense a history between them and even a very strong level of trust with the team.

The Bad

There were many points in the movie that felt predictable.

Steve (Norton) was a shifty character which wouldn’t shock you when betrays the team at the end of the Italy heist and kills John. He was too quiet when they had the meet-up after the successful heist.

You could tell from the beginning of the movie that Charlie’s team would win at the end. There was no doubt that they wouldn’t succeed in taking all the money from Steve.

Originally published on the Bring On The Reviews Blogspot blog on May 22, 2014.

The Italian Job (2003) Cast and Details

The Italian Job (2003) is directed by F. Gary Gray and stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Mos Def and Jason Statham. It runs 111 minutes and is rated PG-13. You can look up the full cast and crew on IMDb. You might also like my X-Men: Days of Future Past review.

DC's Hypothetical Corner

Let’s say I change one thing. Maybe that one thing will make this movie better or more watchable.

It would be a different movie if Steve didn’t kill John during the double cross on the bridge and the team just went to jail instead. The mood of movie would have changed and they could include John in the payback heist. John brought his years of experience and had a cool demeanor. This change could bring a restored connection between him and his daughter too.

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