Rating- * * * * (4/5)
The Summer of Matt has yet to disappoint! This film bears the distinction of being the first summer release to arrive with little or no Hollywood hype and yet delivers with all the goods anyone could hope for in a big Hollywood blockbuster. Now I can’t tell you that this movie is in any way original or unpredictable. It’s a remake of your typical heist film with an all-star cast and is basically built around some impressive car chase sequences that prominently feature the newly revamped Cooper Mini. Interestingly, the original Cooper Minis were used in the original film and whether that is a happy coincidence or a planned marketing effort we may never know. If it sounds like I’m downing the film early here, don’t worry I’m not. I don’t expect summer movies to be original or unpredictable. I ask only that they keep me enthralled and entertained for the duration of the film and that they provide a fun escape from the worries of the real world. Thankfully, The Italian Job does just that. The film opens with a brilliant heist scene that shows a crew of professional thieves led by Donald Sutherland stealing a safe filled with gold in one of the most creative ways you can imagine. After pulling off the job, the crew is betrayed by one of its own, the slimy Steve Frezelli played brilliantly as always by Edward Norton. The crew escapes but not without losing their leader. Flash forward a few months and we meet up with Charlize Theron, Sutherland’s daughter who is a professional safe-cracker for the police. Mark Wahlberg plays Charlie, Sutherland’s second in command, who is looking to get revenge on Frezelli by stealing back the gold and recruits the reluctant Theron for the job. Walhberg’s crew is composed of Seth Green, who plays a hilarious computer programmer who claims he invented Napster; Mos Def, who plays a munitions expert with bad hair and one deaf ear; and Handsome Rob (played by Jason Statham, the British Bruce Willis) who drives so fast that he starts police chases for fun. I won’t go into the details of the heist because that’s part of the fun but I will say that part of what makes it fun is that it’s so incredibly creative. Audiences like to see a movie where the characters come up with a plan to get away with a crime because it makes us think, “If they could do it, so could I!” Whether or not we actually could pull it off, it’s fun to follow the characters through on their perfect scheme and watch it all play out. The car chase is an art form on its own these days and after seeing The Matrix Reloaded, it’s hard to imagine that any car chase could have an effect on you but watching The Italian Job I realized that like any art form, there’s always room for new work, even if it isn’t as moving or great as the masterpiece. The characters are all great in this film and we really care about each of them and what happens to them. There isn’t much emotional conflict or deep drama but like I said, that’s not really what we came for. We came to have fun and that is definitely what you’ll get. Seth Green’s character has several very funny scenes and provides excellent comic relief throughout the film. Ed Norton proves his range once again by playing a perfectly hate-able bad guy and Charlize Theron is at her best in the scenes with Norton where she shows her trademark damsel-in-distress vulnerability with a dash of independent sass. She would have made a great Hitchcock blonde. Also great in this movie is Statham as Handsome Rob who is just the right mix of James Bond and Vin Diesel to fit the tone of this movie. I can tell you that the whole audience around me was riveted during the heist scenes and the movie definitely works on a suspenseful level. All in all, The Italian Job is a near-perfect heist flick and perfect for that summer escapism we all love so much. It’s fun time with some great talent on showcase and it’s well worth your time if your looking for hot cars, funny one-liners, great suspense and an All-American movie experience.