The Bank Job (2008)

Martine offers Terry a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London's Baker Street. She targets a roomful of safe deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry. But Terry and his crew don't realize the boxes also contain a treasure trove of dirty secrets - secrets that will thrust them into a deadly web of corruption and illicit scandal.

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writers:

Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais

Stars:

Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Statham	...	Terry Leather
Saffron Burrows	...	Martine Love
Stephen Campbell Moore	...	Kevin Swain
Daniel Mays	...	Dave Shilling
James Faulkner	...	Guy Singer
Alki David	...	Bambas
Michael Jibson	...	Eddie Burton
Georgia Taylor	...	Ingrid Burton
Richard Lintern	...	Tim Everett
Peter Bowles	...	Miles Urquart
Alistair Petrie	...	Philip Lisle
Hattie Morahan	...	Gale Benson
Julian Lewis Jones	...	Snow
Andrew Brooke	...	Quinn
Rupert Frazer	...	Lord Drysdale (as Rupert Fraser)

Storyline

Business is slow for Terry Leather, a London car dealer, married with children. He's an artful dodger, so Martine, a former model with a thing for him, brings him her scheme: a bank's alarm is off for a couple weeks, so let's tunnel into the vault. He assembles a team, not realizing her real goal is a safe-deposit box with compromising photos of a royal: she needs the photos to trade for avoiding a jail sentence - and MI-5, or is it MI-6, is pulling the strings two steps removed. A Trinidadian thug, a high-end bordello owner, and a pornographer also have things stored in the vault, so the break-in threatens many a powerful personage. Is there any way these amateurs can pull it off?

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Plot Keywords:

bank | safe deposit | heist | pornographer | car dealer | 

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Taglines:

The true story of a heist gone wrong... in all the right ways.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Lionsgate [uk] Lionsgate [us]

Country:

UK USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

El gran golpe

Filming Locations:

Chatham Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,935,256 (USA) (7 March 2008)

Gross:

$30,028,592 (USA) (30 May 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosaic Media Group, Relativity Media, Skyline (Baker St)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mick Jagger:  As a bank employee.

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Goofs

Paddington station is shown as restored with new British Rail signs. In 1971, the station would have been rather dirty from the steam days and many of the main signs would have still been original. Also, the train carriage is of 1973 vintage.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Eddie Burton: [while drilling a mileage meter back] Another Terry Leather low mileage here.

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Crazy Credits

Disclaimer: "The names of many people identified in this film have been changed to protect the guilty."

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.79 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Get It On"
Written by Marc Bolan
Performed by T-Rex
Westminster Music Ltd
Administered by Essex Music of Australia Pty Ltd
Licensed courtesy of Straight Ahead Productions

User Reviews

Above Average Caper Flick

As caper flicks go, all I really hope for is something that succeeds in being both novel and entertaining. My hopes were satisfied by The Bank Job. The plot itself is based very loosely on events that occurred in the 1970s in London. The royal family has some dark secrets. An outspoken activist/petty criminal/drug importer has evidence of these secrets, which he uses as leverage against the government who desperately wants to prosecute him. This evidence is stored in a safety deposit box within a London bank. British Intelligence conjures up a rather reckless plan of employing a bunch of two-bit/amateur criminals to break into the vault, and take the evidence along with whatever else they can carry out. Apart from one intermediary, none of the robbers know the government's secret agenda. Of course, things get complicated whenever the possibility that a bunch of dirty secrets are in the wrong hands, and eventually the movie juggles several interconnecting plot lines, all related to the contents of the vault and their implication on various interests from the royal family, to corrupt police, to the sexual indiscretions of parliament members.

The movie keeps a good pace and never takes itself too seriously. It builds up the plot lines and tries somewhat successfully to tie everything together. There is some good tension, a bit of violence (not much), and eventually, vindication for most of the parties.

The problems with the movie are numerous, but nothing that ultimately destroys the fun. Yes the movie is rife with inexplicably, unnecessary side characters (see female undercover agent in the Caribbean). Yes the movie's dialogue veers into indecipherable 1970s British slang, which gives a comedic undertone to conversations that are intended to be serious. Yes there exist rampant plot issues that make you wonder how stupid cops really are. And yes the acting is OK, at best, lets face it Jason Stracham is meant for British caper movies the way Keanu Reeves is meant to play a clueless surfer cop in Point Break - so while he's not winning any Academies, he fits these rolls just fine.

You could wait for the DVD, or if you are looking for a fun way to kill 2 hours, you should go to the theater for this one.