44 recommendations

I recommend this...

The Bank Job

  Editorial Review

Editorial Review

Jason Statham is one of the less likely movie stars, in that he's not afraid to look like himself. While it's hard to argue that Statham's anchored great films (and some, like Rogue Assassin and Chaos, have been dodgier than a 3am kebab), when he's been allowed to rely on his natural humour and hard-man swagger (Crank, The Transporter), the results have been winning B-movies. And The Bank Job is perhaps his best showcase so far.

Like genre-daddy Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Staham's latest gig is about good-natured London chancers. What sets it apart from that and other imitators is rather than being drenched in gangsta cool or directorial showiness, it's grounded in a true story and realistic characters. Adding to his CV of colourfully named chaps, Statham is Terry Leather, likely lad second-hand car dealer who is in deep with local heavies.

Lured by old crush Martine (Burrows), he and his crew embark on a tunnel-into-the- vault bank job, not realising their real mission is to snatch incriminating photos of a royal personage.

The Bank Job takes a while to gather momentum. Slow, yes, but it's not treading water because the players - the British intelligence echelon, various pornographers, radical Michael X and his followers and infiltrators - need to be established carefully. Once the raid's carried out, we're glad for the set-up because the conspiracies and consequences spiral out of control.

Thanks to the ongoing secrecy of the British government over the 1971 Baker Street raid, it's not possible to ascertain how true the events in the film are. What matters, though, is that they never feel beyond credibility. And it's Statham's believability at the film's centre that is key, and he easily hits just the right notes as a street smart but reluctant crim and flawed family man.

Michael Adams

read our interview with Jason Statham here.