The Italian Job (2003)

As remakes go, The Italian Job isn't a patch on the original classic of British cool. Mark Wahlberg is a fine actor, but he's no Michael Caine, and the majority of the tale doesn't even take place in Italy, making it as much a disappointment as it is a misnomer. But, at risk of appearing as an apologist for this film, if you discount its connection to the classic, and all the expectations attack to this, this is actually a fairly solid, well-acted and exciting heist movie. It's a tad convoluted, but the cast gel well together and the climactic car chase, while it does pale in comparison to the original once more, it fast-paced and tense. It was a nigh-impossible task to make this a satisfying successor to the original, and it would have been alot easier to just make a modern heist movie based around cars. But, that might have only solicited cries of "rip off!" from the viewing audience, so perhaps this project was just doomed from the start. I will admit its many flaws, though, as Edward Norton is a whiny and completely unthreatening villain, the name is a total lie, and Jason Statham doesn't perform any ridiculous but thoroughly awesome superhuman acts after snorting cocaine/giving himself a massive electric shock. My biggest compliment to this film is a rather back-handed one; it gave rise to one of the better driving games for the Nintendo Gamecube. Indeed, it had a more honest title, adding the subtitle "L.A. Heist". It's a truism that movie tie-in games are terrible, so when your tie-in game is better than your movie, you've somewhat failed as a film-maker. Especially when you go on to direct Be Cool and Law-Abiding Citizen.


You have incurred the displeasure of the Caine...