Dir. Roger Donaldson, UK, 2008, 111mins
Cast: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, David Suchet, Daniel Mays, James Faulkner
Review by Matthew Rodgers
Jason Statham has developed something of a cult following with monosyllabic throwaway action fodder such as The Transporter and the ludicrous Crank, but it’s his earlier roles in Guy Ritchie’s career peaks of Lock, Stock and Snatch that strikes a familiar chord with this ITV drama disguised as Britflick, The Bank Job. Cornering the market as a career criminal after the enjoyable Italian Job remake, its time for him to take on the entirely British Job of the little known Lloyd’s bank robbery of 1971 in which the intended swag bag contained not just cash but a whole heap of scandalous secrets.
Jumping aboard the Life on Mars/Ashes soul train of 70’s nostalgia (even the poster smacks of vintage cinema one-sheets) director Roger Donaldson (Species, Thirteen Days) does a lot right in setting up this sprightly little heist movie, kitting it out with a retro wardrobe and T-Rex soundtrack. It’s a shame then that he bungles his own meticulous plotting and gets caught out by a darker, morose tone that falls flat in the second half of a movie that goes from suspenseful to torturous, literally.
Statham is as charming as ever as the gruff geezer in need of a Gillette but it’s a shtick that could become as well worn as his fur-trimmed coat and even Saffron Burrows (Deep Blue Sea) sidesteps her usual cardboard cut-out routine as the MI5 agent with prior history, but the limitations of its ambitions are clear to see with every contextual cliché that’s wheeled on and it’s only the likeability of the lead character that maintains the interest.
The biggest crime that The Bank Job commits is as a result of Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais script – British telebox classics such as 'Porridge' and 'The Likely Lads' are just two creations to break out of their minds – these are two writers so steeped in 70’s comedy culture that it’s unthinkable that this remains simply an above average clichéd cockney caper. This is hardly a steal.
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