In The Italian Job; a slick and stylish remake to that fun loving British classic, Mark Wahlberg plays Charlie Croker, your average every day thief who looks up to his boss (Donald Sutherland) as a sort of father figure; but loses him anyway after Steve (Who is the traditional 2 dimensional bad guy with no second name) betrays the team during a job in Italy (Hence the title) and leaves them all for dead. Once tracking him down to L.A they decide to steal back the gold using a professional safe cracker who also happens to be the bosses daughter. Oh, and guess which 2 vengeful thieves develop romantic interests despite the fact that Charlie is supposed to think of her as his little sister.
Now the thing to note about this version of The Italian Job is that it is very American in its design. It has extremely slick production values with a soundtrack that ups the pace and helps to vocalise the on screen tensions perfectly. Plus it has the cool camera angles, the slow moving close up camera work that helps to both heighten the tension and play out the way the plan should go before hand. However like another recent slick heist movie to star Edward Norton, The Score, this camera work and soundtrack combo is nothing new. Anyone who has seen a heist movie/action thriller in recent memory has seen this combo and nothing new has changed.
However The Italian Job has one major advantage over The Score and that is the support of 2 of the best chase sequences in recent memory. The first is a boat chase through the canals of Venice, with the guards heading out over the waters to chase a few of the team members while the rest stay back to crack the safe that remains underneath the building. The combination of the amazing stunt work on display with the boats and the claustrophobia of trying to crack a safe underwater before the police divers show up is absolutely gripping.
The second in the infamous mini scene. An extended chase sequence through the streets of L.A involving 3 minis, a helicopter and a train set. I mean just how cool is that!!! Again this scene is notable for a series of impressive stunts such as the imitable car leaping in front of the train at the last minute and the mini Vs helicopter finale.
Sadly despite all of this I still don’t find myself drawn to this version of The Italian Job as a genuine classic of modern cinema. It is formulaic and, well, it just takes itself too seriously. I suppose this is all to do with the American style but it just lacks any really distinctive charm. There is humour, but it’s more the type of humour that works out of context, such as the moment Wahlberg punches Norton, or the scene where Left Ear describes his dislike for dogs. However when viewed in the context of the film these moments pass by, they are not nearly as funny as they are on their own and as a result the film rarely made me laugh.
I also found the cast to be less then it could have been as it ranged from the very good to the mediocre at best. Jason Statham (Snatch) has the rough charm of any modern cockney gangster and makes Handsome Rob the films most memorable character. Mos Def (Monster’s Ball) is hilarious as the explosives expert Left Ear, perfectly underplaying the characters sarcasm to the point where it becomes a lot more funny than any over the top performance ever would have been. Then Seth Green (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has a real sense of intellectual smugness as the geeky computer hacker Lyle. It’s just that in that group they are doing well, but still playing little more then their own token characters and they have each done the same roles better in the past.
Then when you factor in the OK but going through the motions performance by Edward Norton as the personality free villain Steve. The drab performance by Mark; will never have enough charisma to be an action hero, Walberg (Planet Of The Apes) as the films looks good to the ladies but never feels cool hero Charlie. Concluding with the emotionless void that is Charlize Theron (Reindeer Games) as the films Barbie doll love interest Stella and you quickly come to realize that the film is far from being the perfect heist movie. It’s a fun time though, just far from perfect.