The Italian Job

Release Date: May 30, 2003 (rerelease: August 29)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: F. Gary Gray
Screenwriter: Donna Powers, Wayne Powers
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron, Mos Def, Franky G, Seth Green, Jason Statham, Donald Sutherland
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for violence and some language)
Official Website: TheItalianJobmovie.com

Plot Summary: A remake of the 1969 Paramount release of the same name that starred Michael Caine and Benny Hill. The new version, a reinvention of the action-oriented heist movie, will be set in Italy and Los Angeles. It stars Mark Wahlberg as Charlie, the head of a robbery crew that stages a traffic jam in order to steal back a safe filled with gold that had been stolen by a double-crossing associate (Norton). Sutherland will play the pivotal role of Charlie's mentor and father to Charlie's love interest, Stella (Theron). Green will play Lyle, a computer whiz who is part of Charlie's crew. Franky G. and Mos Def also star as members of the crew.

Reviewed by Mike Thompson © 2003
- Take a pot shot but be warned.

We have a heist movie here that would be ordinary, but it brings something new to the mix... a revenge heist. Director, F. Gary Gray (A Man Apart, The Negotiator) brings us a blockbuster action/heist movie that gets all those summer viewers excited to go to the theatre with The Italian Job. Yet you can still tell that summer blockbuster is all he was going for. Gray made the film viewable and understandable for just about anyone to view. If he would have made this movie a little smarter and more realistic than he would have had quite a picture on his hands. He stuck with the action and somewhat predictable plot (but there were some unexpected twists), which isn’t all that stupid. He still made himself a heck of a motion picture that got great hype and is now being compared to the smash hit The Fast and the Furious (which I would say is pretty flattering considering how popular that movie was, and still is).

Mark Wahlberg plays Charlie Croker, the half-leader of a group of men that steal various things that make them super rich. Croker and his gang finish a master heist in Italy (hence the name) that is close to impossible and when they are done and on there way to safety and unlimited spending, one of there trusted teammates turns on them (Edward Norton). He kills John (Donald Sutherland, the eldest and the one mostly in charge), but the van rolls into a frozen lake before he can kill the rest. He shoots into the water for a while, forcing the rest of the team to stay under water for an unimaginable amount of time (how could they have not gotten hypothermia? I don’t know!) But they all survive, and find Steve (Norton) with a false last name in L.A. Everyone joins back up to avenge the death of Charlie’s father type figure and also bring along John’s daughter, Stella (Charlize Theron), a master safe cracker.

So it eventually turns out to be a double heist movie which makes good entertainment for all you heist lovers out there. Wahlberg ends up making a pretty bad performance, even if he is in tight t-shirts a lot, flexing and showing off his muscles. And Norton shows an okay acting job as an obnoxious, too smart for his own good, bad guy. Jason Statham plays the getaway car driver and does it really well. Statham was made for these kind of movies in my opinion, since The Transporter he’s showed us all that he is definitely a very worthy action actor. The rest of the cast (Charlize Theron, Seth Green, Mos Def, Franky G, Donald Sutherland) does okay, but nothing to get excited about.

If your looking for a movie to flip on when you come home from a hard day’s work, this one is for you. You won’t be happy if your looking for Oscar worthy acting, but you’ll have pretty faces and good action to stare at