Based on a true story, “The Bank Job” is the story of the 1971 Baker Street bank robbery. When the British government learns of incriminating photos and the threat of blackmail preventing them from arresting a drug importer , Michael X, secretly hire a group of criminals to break into the bank that keeps the photos and steal them. There can be nothing that links criminals to the government, so every government action is carried out with the utmost secrecy.
When Martine Love (Saffron Burrows) is arrested for drug possession, she makes a deal with Tim, a government official who is part of the group designed to solve the Michael X problem. The deal is that Martine must help put together a team. to commit the bank robbery. She convinces an old friend and former Terry Leather (Jason Statham – “The Transporter”) to help her, and Terry forms a team. As a group, they rent the building two doors down from the bank and dig a tunnel under the bank to steal the safe deposit boxes found in the vault.
Although they are successful in robbing the bank, the tides turn when they realize the deal wasn’t as simple as it originally was and discover exactly what Martine was sent to rob. Also, it turns out that another prominent member of society has a safe deposit box at the same bank and also wants his items returned. Now Terry, Martine and their team must find a way to avoid jail and deal with the many dangerous people who want their photos and items back.
Where “The Bank Job” succeeds is in keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat with the complex drama. The story is never simple, and even when the viewer thinks that everything is going well for Terry and his team, something always happens that changes things. With themes like secrecy, blackmail, and corruption, suspicion envelops each character, leaving the viewer waiting to discover the motivations behind each character’s actions.
The theme of secrets also plays out within Terry’s own crew, as the previous relationship between Terry and Martine reappears, creating a new series of questions. Terry must decide what is more important to him, the marriage to his wife or the excitement that accompanies the criminal lifestyle. Additionally, Martine’s feelings for Terry and Tim leave the viewer wondering who she’s really in on the bank robbery for and who, if anyone, she will ultimately betray.
Where “The Bank Job” falls short, however, is that with so much secrecy, certain stories are not described in sufficient detail and, to some extent, may not have been necessary at all. The best example of this is with the character of Gale Benson. She is a British citizen who tries to infiltrate Michael X’s organization by sleeping with her friend Malik. Although his character is important to the real-life story the film is based on, within the film, his character is not sufficiently developed. He only appears in the conversation twice, once at the beginning of the movie and once at the end. She is unable to succeed in her goal, however there are a number of scenes that portray her, stepping away from the action of Terry and Martine.
Despite that slight setback, the rest of the story is well told and the action scenes are very well intertwined with the dramatic discussion scenes. For Jason Statham, who mainly stars in action movies (including movies like “The Transporter,” “Crank” and “The Italian Job”), he really has a chance to do more than just run and fight. The viewer knows his more serious side when he sees how he acts with his wife and children. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this movie and I highly recommend it.
Grade B