The Bank Job (2008)

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writers (WGA):

Dick Clement (written by) &
Ian La Frenais (written by)

Release Date:

7 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Safe Deposit | Murder | Pornographer | Extortion

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Baker Street (UK) (working title)
D-Notice (UK) (working title)
The Bank Job (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #43693) | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | Norway:15 | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | Singapore:R21 | Germany:12 | Brazil:16 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:MA | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Japan:PG-12 | Denmark:11 | Austria:16 | South Africa:16LV | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Iceland:16 | Mexico:B15 | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK

Company:

Mosaic Media Group

Trivia:

Aldwych station was chosen to film the underground scenes because the true Tottenham Court Road station had been modified extensively in the early 1980s. Only Edgware Road still has any resemblance to its original look.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When testing the thermic lance for the first time the machine that was used to flip the table is clearly visible in the final shot of the scene.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References "Pinky and Perky" (1957)

Soundtrack:

In the Midnight Hour

The Bank Job Movie Review by The Massie Twins

Sporting complex consequences for a relatively straightforward plot, The Bank Job remains intriguing throughout as each set-up leads to ever more suspenseful twists for the likable group of ragtag antiheroes. Over-thorough character introductions cause a slower build in the early stages of the heist, but such complications likely arise from fewer liberties taken with the "based on a true story" events, and the result is a fascinating look at criminals, the corrupt, and those least guilty.

It is 1971 in East London and a fateful bank robbery begins to take shape. In order to remove the threat of radical gangster Michael X, government officials devise a plan to rob a bank on Baker Street and retrieve damning photographs from his possession. To keep the heist untraceable back to them, an independent group of thieves, led by car dealer Terry (Jason Statham) and the cunning Martine (Saffron Burrows) are unwittingly thrown into a deadly battle against corrupt officials and London's criminal underworld.

Jason Statham isn't your typical leading man, yet ever since Guy Ritchie's early films he has managed to keep coming back with bigger and better roles and is now thought of as an action film star. However it's here, in darker thrillers, that he finds a more sincere presence, especially as thief and scoundrel Terry. Each moral flaw creates a more dimensional character, and one worth rooting for.

The language of the film is genuinely intriguing, as it captures wonderfully wry British slang. Cheeky sod, 12-inch mutton dagger, a bit of bother, usual skullduggery and things turning a-custard are but a few of the verbal jousts that occur between the main characters. Devoid of euphuisms, these apparently authentic words make the dialogue a particularly potent piece of the puzzle.

The entire subplot about Michael X and his blackmailing of the British government is useful in its supposed tie to facts, but as filmed scenes in the movie, they are hardly necessary. Photographs of a princess caught in the act of promiscuity are at the root of the blackmail plot, which then goes on to include further damaging materials from Sonia Bern's brothel, also of factual importance, but equally unnecessary in the film. Michael X's involvement could have been entailed in a briefing by the 506 crew, who spill out the usual generic explanations of villains, and even Bern's entanglement could have been narrated through the details of the photos. While most of these moments have their entertainment value, essentially they serve to drag out the film's running time.

They say truth is stranger than fiction, and The Bank Job definitely falls into that category. Pimps, thieves, spies, and government officials all collide in a robbery gone right and then terribly wrong, lending the inquisitive to ponder over how much (or little) is fabricated in this thriller. The robbery itself is merely the setup to an intricate conclusion, even though the film takes time to create plenty of suspense throughout the not-so-carefully planned heist. Though the people making demands continually change, our attention is always seated with Jason Statham's unusually intense performance. When the credits roll and the explanation that "the names have been changed to protect the guilty" flashes on screen, we realize what a delightfully flourished yet entertaining tale of "doing the wrong thing" The Bank Job really is.

- The Massie Twins