The Italian Job (no spoilers)
I like heist movies. I like trickery and double-crossing and people using their brains over their muscle. THE ITALIAN JOB has all of that in the proper proportion. There’s only one double-cross, and that’s done early so as to set up the movie. The rest of the movie is ‘just’ trickery and planning.
Heist movies come in two flavors — the kind you know what’s going to happen and then something big screws it all up; and the kind where you don’t know what’s going to happen and the genius is in watching them pull it all off.
This movie has elements of both, which is why I like it so much. You see the various parts being set up, but you’re not sure how they all pay off. When they do, it’s thanks to some quick thinking and the ability to adapt to changing conditions.
The third act of the movie is the best part, as opposed to most movies these days that blow their wad in the opening act and then scramble to figure out how to end things. I can’t tell you why it’s so clever without spoilers, which is a bit frustrating. Suffice it to say, there’s a clever turn of plot that pits the two lead characters against each other and results in a fast-paced, yet well thought-out, finale that’s good for some chuckles.
No, the characters aren’t terribly deep. They’re easily defined by their name and their one skill apiece. Seth Green gets a little extra screen time as comic relief. The big romantic sub-plot of the movie is always underplayed, thankfully. It’s the heists that dominate the screen time, with a lot of colorful characters and a plot that doesn’t insult the viewer. I like it a lot. It’s the biggest surprise movie of the year for me. I didn’t expect much, but I had a great time.
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20. June 2003 at 00:01
Augie, you have perfectly articulated the way Eric and i felt about the movie. We were VERY pleasantly surprised. I really liked that the “romance” was, as you put it, underplayed. The twist at the beginning was great, and set up the dynamics rather well. Seth Green was extremely amusing, and the car chase sequences were just great – annd I don’t even LIKE car chases.
Of course, I also got to look at Jason Stratham for a bit, always a plus. ;)
And I want a Mini Cooper. ;)
20. June 2003 at 09:26
I agree with everything you both said as well…only substitute Charlize Theron for Jason Statham. ;)
20. June 2003 at 20:41
Jason Stratham is seriously cool. Don’t know if I’d want him as James Bond, necessarily, but he’s still fun to watch.
But, yeah, I’m definitely in the Charlize Theron camp..
Bronte –> Have you ever watched RONIN? If that doesn’t make you like car chase movies, then nothing will. (OK, OK, maybe that car chase through San Fran in THE ROCK, but I won’t push my luck after that.)
I was very pleasantly surprised at the romance level in the movie. It was obviously there between those two characters, but they never stopped the movie with it to put in some gratuitous skin shots. They could have very easily, but they left it as a bit of unresolved tension.
-Augie
21. June 2003 at 09:51
Well, actually, it WAS resolved – they got married! :) Or at least became a….thing. ;)
Re: Jason Stratham – he’s what made “The Transporter” work. It wa a ridiculously plotted movie, but he just made it work. I actually think HE’d make a GREAT John Constantine, but the Powers that Be seem to think Keanu Reeves would be a better choice [shaking head].
Re: Car Chases – I saw RONIN. Was Bored. [ducking] I don’t know why, but the movie just bored me. And the car chase didn’t work for me, either. On the other hand, the highway sequences in THE MATRIX woere just fantastic and Eric insists I cut off the circulation in his arm during them.
22. June 2003 at 10:59
Augie, if you love heist films, be sure to track down a copy of “Grand Slam.” Blue Underground’s DVD (released late last year) is splendid. How can you beat a cast that includes Janet Leigh, Klaus Kinski, E.G. Robinson, and the guy who played Largo in “Thunderball.”
24. June 2003 at 20:28
“Heist” movie to check: Topkapi
(Also fun to see where Brian DePalma got his inspiration for the best setpiece in MI)
“Planning” movies:
Where Eagles Dare
Day of the Jackal (original, not that Willis/Kilmer thing)
And if my brain isn’t failing, The Dogs of War, with Chris Walken. 90% of the film is the planning!