"The Bank Job" was Stranger Than Fiction

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Thriller and Crime/Gangster
Running Time: 1 hr. 50 min.
Release Date: March 7th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, nudity, violence and language.
Distributors: Lionsgate

Directed by: Roger Donaldson

JJ Rating: B+

Terry Leather (Jason Statham) is asked by Martine Love (Saffron Burrow) to perform the biggest bank heist (not yet known to them prior-but it became that) in history. She gave word that it would be simple and it would be without a hitch and so his hesitation drowned by the amount of money that they could get away with and he agreed. He got a group together and the plan went smoothly until the day after. The Bank Job.

As the movie started I thought I was watching some sort of film I had to go to a 24 Hour place to get. Unnecessary beginning that showed more than it needed to. If it just went to the edge and not further it would have been less intrusive and licentious and more controlled and tortuous. Less is more and less also allows for the imagination to give sway instead of being told right out what is going on. Hitchcock's knife that doesn't stab scene with the corn syrup blood for the movie Psycho is more about perception of what is going on then what is actually being shown. Directors tend to forget how powerful that is and they just want to SHOW EVERYTHING. No thank-you.

Aside from that horrible beginning the movie was actually pretty good. It was witty and clever with a great cast. Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows were magnetic. Whenever they were on the screen there was fireworks that just exploded subtly and attention grabbingly. They were just really good together and it didn't hurt that Saffron (her first name's beauty outshines her last name, so using it whispers it ever so gently) was attractive.

Daniel Mays, James Faulkner, Alki David, Michael Jibson, Richard Lintern (II), David Suchet, Peter Bowles (II), Andrew Brooke (II), Trevor Byfield and Peter de Jersey (good lord that's a lot of II's) were a great cast. If the movie was a failure it would not be the fault of their acting.