The Bank Job [2008]

Tot din seria "ce filme am mai vazut", mentionez aici filmul regizorului Roger Donaldson din 2008, inspirat dintr-o poveste reala, The Bank Job.
Un film de duminica, cu actiune, umor british, situatii neprevazute, un film numai bun pentru o zi de duminica.
"Sinopsis: Un vanzator de masini cu un trecut dubios, Terry a evitat intotdeauna loviturile mari. Dar cand Martine, o cunostinta din copilarie, ii spune cum sa prade inexpugnabila banca din Baker Street, Terry nu rateaza ocazia. El si echipa lui isi vor da seama curand ca seifurile pline de bani si bijuterii contin si anumite informatii care vor arunca in aer intregul regat al Marii Britanii, caci nemarginita retea de coruptie si scandal implica atat lumea criminala din Londra, cat si varfurile puterii britanice, precum si insasi familia regala." - cinemagia


If a crime flick can be judged by the breadth and width of its gallery of rogues, then The Bank Job passes muster. Based on the true story of a London bank heist in 1971, this patchy but diverting thriller is chockablock with Cockney hardcases, bent coppers, kinky politicians, shadowy MI5 fixers, black radicals, a Soho sleaze merchant and a bevy of topless birds. Though the screen can be as crowded as you’d expect, the bustle mostly serves the movie well.

At the very least, there’s plenty to distract viewers from the limited abilities of Jason Statham. Keeping the skull-cracking to a minimum, he plays Terry, a small-timer who gets in on a big score thanks to Martine (Saffron Burrows), a beauty from his past. The heist itself is a mucky business but Terry’s crew pull it off. However, along with the cash and jewels, they unfortunately nab some highly coveted photos of a royal in flagrante delicto.

As the naïve thieves are hunted down by far nastier types (including David Suchet as a vicious pornographer), director Roger Donaldson does a competent if unstylish job of raising the tension. As for the veracity of the screenwriters’ version of the events — long the subject of speculation due to a government ban on reporting on the case — the lumpy dialogue and stock plotting suggest that many liberties have been taken. In any case, The Bank Job remains an unusually lively showcase of Brits behaving badly.


Starring: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows. Written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais. Directed by Roger Donaldson. (14A) 111 min.