STUDIO: Lionsgate
RELEASE DATE: July 15, 2008
STARRING: Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows
WRITTEN BY: Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais
DIRECTED BY: Roger Donaldson
FEATURES: Audio Commentary With Director Roger Donaldson, Actress Saffron Burrows and Composer J. Peter Robinson
Inside The Bank Job Featurette
The Baker Street Bank Raid Featurette
Deleted And Extended Scenes With Optional Audio Commentary
Theatrical Trailer

Guess what? Jason Statham can actually act. Like you, I thought he could too back in the days when he worked with Guy Ritchie, but there's no acting involved in junk like War, Revolver, or, despite its guilty pleasure qualities, Crank. But Statham FINALLY shows the depth that made some folks think he could be the next Steve McQueen in The Bank Job. In fact, Statham's best career performance (by far) is the main reason to see this very well-received, very adult thriller. Maybe Statham should stick with "Jobs". (The Italian one wasn't half-bad either.) With more and more gee-whiz kids (Shia LaBeouf, Michael Angarano, etc.) and everyday heroes (the biggest action stars of the year are Robert Downey Jr., Ed Norton, and a rather-old Harrison Ford) taking up screen time, critics who watched The Bank Job marveled that someone, anyone was willing to make a movie about adults for adults and Statham's square jaw and broad shoulders was the PERFECT choice. If anything, he's actually underused, as a late scene between him and his wife hints at a deeper, more character-driven film that would have been even better. Action movies always do well on DVD (The Italian Job was huge enough on DVD to help support the idea of a sequel, the coming The Brazilian Job) and The Bank Job will be no exception.

It was September of 1971 when a group of mediocre thieves rented a shop and burrowed through the basement floor to the bank next door. They emptied out a room of safety deposit boxes and hit the road. But what should have actually been a success went way off the rails when it turned out that one of the boxes they grabbed contained dirty pictures of the royal family. And when it was discovered that one of the team members actually knew about those photos and was really trying to get them in the first place, things got ugly. And they got WAY uglier when a few other safety deposit box secrets, including those of rebellious leader Michael X, almost made the light of day. The idea that corrupt cops, dirty politicians, and drug dealers might hold all their secrets in one robbed bank is a brilliant one and even better when you consider that it's mostly true. 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. The Bank Job suffers a bit from TOO much story. It's too talky with too many characters, twists, and turns, that can sometimes make it feel disjointed. But Statham often finds a way to keep it tied together and can usually keep this runaway train on the tracks. I liked Statham's work and it's strongly directed by Roger Donaldson (No Way Out, Thirteen Days), but I ultimately found The Bank Job unsatisfying. Having said that, I'm happy it was made - we need more thrillers for adults - and expect to be in the minority with my dissatisfaction. It should be a huge hit on DVD.

Of course, watching it on Blu-Ray is even better. Lionsgate isn't quite a pioneer in the market - for some reason, their titles don't look quite as sharp as Warner Brothers or Sony - but the picture is never bad. It rarely is on Blu-Ray. And the sound is even better. Action movies need good sound mixes. The Bank Job has one. As for special features, it's a surprisingly limited set, but I can't imagine a wealth of extras for a movie like The Bank Job, and what is here works. The commentary track with Donaldson, star Saffron Burrows, and composer J. Peter Robinson is damn good. It's light and informative without getting too dry. The featurettes are a little brief, but still interesting, and fans will also find a digital copy of the film - even on the Blu-Ray edition, which sort of means it's a two-for-one - HD copy of the film on the Blu-Ray disc and a standard copy that you can download to your computer. Let's hope Statham does a few more jobs like this one.