Flick Picks with Ian Stark

The Bank Job

Fear not popcorn lovers. While not smart or original enough to leave a major mark, The Bank Job is entertaining enough to give you something to watch on a lazy afternoon.

You may see the advertisements extolling the film as if it were the latest Guy Ritchie flick, but unlike stylish UK crime story romps like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, this is really more interested in substance than flair...which is kind of a shame. You'll keep seeing the spark, but by the end you'll wonder why it didn't burn brighter.

Directed by Aussie Roger Donaldson (The Recruit, Thirteen Days), this is a riff on an actual event, the well-publicized (in England, anyway) 1971 robbery of a Lloyds Bank in London. The story revolves around the cleverly named Terry Leather, played by salty Jason Statham with his usual I'm-tough-and-smart-yet-I-constantly-get-roped-into-stuff character. Once again, he's a two-bit hood who, along with a group of other minor crooks, gets flirted, then forced into committing a bank heist by his sexy ex, Martine Love (the cheeky cheek boned Saffron Burrows).

While this is taking place, Martine is bamboozled into organizing the operation by her boyfriend (Richard Lintern), who is married and a prominent member of the British intelligence community. It turns out he needs her and the mugs to retrieve some nasty snapshots of a member of the royal family, and the pictures are in the vault.

As per most crime movies, the heist crew is a cast of slightly-wacky but entertaining characters, such as the part-time adult film actor Dave (Daniel Mays), the sappy photog Kevin (Stephen Campbell Moore), and Eric, who has the oft-doomed role of being the Statham sidekick. You'll definitely get some chuckles as the not-so-hardened criminals banter on their walkie-talkies.

But while the boys serve as likeable anti-heroes, the real heavy stuff soon arrives with the appearance of local strip-club owner Lew Vogel (a nasty, nasty David Suchet). Turns out Lew's been keeping all the ledgers and pictures he's saved for blackmail purposes in that very same vault, and he's more than willing to go the extra murderous mile to protect that paperwork. Needless to say, once he's aware of the job, the plot thickens and sickens.

The chain of events won't be a shocker, but the story is lively and the acting is strong and breezy. In truth, if it were an American product, it would probably be less inviting, but the British sensibilities, not to mention the accents, let it cheat and seem a little smarter than it really is. You'll enjoy your time in the seat, although it's not likely going to be a must-have on DVD.

Ian Stark is a frequent TV and radio commentator on the film industry, and consults with private organizations on their collections. He is widely published on film and other arts/culture topics.

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