The Bank Job

Going into an average film with low expectations, one can come away pleasantly surprised having actually quite enjoyed it. And The Bank Job is an average film - despite the apparent true story premise (one suspects that there is one heck of a lot of supposition at work) and political intrigue additions, this is effectively just another London-set gangster movie. From the loveable cockney thieves to the posh spooks, there's not much in the way of characterisation here beyond the stereotypical.

The plot follows Terry (Jason Statham) and his mates, tricked into the robbery of some safety deposit boxes by the intelligence community in order that they might get their hands on some incriminating pictures of a royal personage. In the process they also manage to rob various persons of ill-repute, who all want to get their stuff back.

What follows will leave you with a distinct sense of deja-vu - despite the political element to the set-up there's not much that hasn't been done before and done better. Statham in particular struggles with a role which requires him to be more restrained than usual and only really seems at ease in the last act where he gets to be menacing and violent.

There are, however, redeeming features - the script by Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais keeps things moving at a lively pace and keeps things clear and coherent with all the different groups and their motivations. Peter Bowles is very watchable as the intelligence chief, as is Stephen Campbell Moore (The History Boys) as Terry's photographer friend. On the downside, some of the violence feels a bit gruesome for what is otherwise quite a light tone to the film.

Overall - 2.5/5. Neither as good nor as bad as it might have been. Lacking in originality but fairly well executed for undemanding lively entertainment.