STUDIO: Lionsgate
RELEASE DATE: March 7, 2008
STARRING: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, and James Faulkner
WRITTEN BY: Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais
DIRECTED BY: Roger Donaldson
GENRE: Action
RATING: R

In September of 1971, a group of ragtag thieves tunneled into the vault of a bank in London's Baker Street district and grabbed as much as they could from a room of safety deposit boxes. That's the short version. The long one starts with the fact that they were there in the first place because of a complicated plot involving dirty pictures of the royal family. It turns out those photos were being held in one of those safety deposit boxes and the only woman on the team was guiding her men in black to that particular vault to get them so she wouldn't go to jail on a drug charge. Well, if the rebellious leader Michael X was keeping scandalous photos in a safety deposit box, doesn't it hold that other nefarious folks might have some things in that bank that shouldn't see the light of day? Corrupt cops. Dirty politicians. Drug dealers in Trinidad. The most amazing thing about the bank heist of 1971 is that the actual criminals were the least morally corrupt people involved in the entire affair.

So, why did it take so long for such an amazing story to be made into a movie? Sadly, it's clear about ten minutes into The Bank Job why it's taken almost four decades for Baker Street robbery to make it to big screen, but it's a complaint you're not going to hear too often this year - there's TOO much story here. There are so many characters, twists, and turns in The Bank Job that the movie often feels disjointed and borderline impossible to follow (especially in the first act, which you practically need a flowchart to understand). When glimpses of actual character development pop up - as in a great scene between the heist leader (played by Jason Statham) and his wife late in the film - they almost feel like they're out of another movie. Most of The Bank Job is like a runaway train, moving so fast and turning so many times that it becomes kind of numbing.

Having said that, The Bank Job is nearly saved by two things - it's willingness to actually be a heist movie for adults (which you just don't see as often as you should) and, believe it or not, Statham. The man who Guy Ritchie turned into a star gives the best performance of his career and you have to wonder if it isn't because the film takes place in an era when Statham would have been a household name. In the '70s, before gee-whiz kid action heroes like Shia LaBeouf or everyman heroes like Nicolas Cage, it was all about square jaws and strong shoulders like Steve McQueen. Statham fits everything about his part in The Bank Job perfectly. It almost makes you more angry at some of the recent nonsense he's wasted his talent in. And, in the era of the Ocean's movies and their glitz over grime, it's refreshing to see a heist movie with some very dark edges. The Bank Job is violent and definitely for adults only. And not just because you practically need a degree to follow the plot.

In the end, The Bank Job is like the crime itself - a double-edged sword. The criminals got away with their daring heist but then realized that the Pandora's Box they pilfered never should have been opened. The film features a great performance, very good direction by Roger Donaldson, and a fascinating story, and yet it's still unsatisfying. It will make viewers want to read more about the actual crime, hope that Statham continues to get parts like this one, and maybe even inspire someone to make a mini-series about the heist (there's more than enough story here to support at least six hours), but the actual movie job doesn't get it done.