Review - The Bank Job

Based on a true story, The Bank Job weaves a corruptive tale that see's Terry Leather, a down on his luck gambler offered a foolproof robbery at a local London bank on Baker Street. Terry and his crew move into position for the heist not realizing that within the safety deposit boxes they are robbing, is a plethera of dirty secrets, including some of England's leading officals. These secrets prove to be way more than the team bargained for and could prove to have a deadly outcome on the team.


The Bank Job was a surprisingly enjoyable caper film. Directed by Roger Donaldson, who had previously directed a few stinkers like The Recruit and Dante's Peak, he has also had some decent efforts like Thirteen Days, The Bounty, and No Way Out. The Bank Job exceeded my expectations by a mile and was very refreshing to see a witty heist film that stayed humble and really delivered. The script is nothing special, a standard heist very similar to Woody Allen's "Small Time Crooks," with expected twists and turns, but the third act is done so well and is so engaging, that it all makes up for the simple script.

Jason Statham is very good as expected in this film, however he is not his typical badass character. Statham as Terry Leather is a family man who is trying to make good for his wife and daughter, he is not like "Handsome Rob" in The Italian Job or "Frank Martin" in the Transporter series. He is much more of a refined character, not as brass and short tempered. That is not to say, that he is clearly the leading male in the film and will kick some serious ass if you get in his face! Overall Statham gave a great performance that I have come to expect from him. He brings a sense of urgency and an energy to his roles that just feels natural and always makes for strong intriguing characters.

The second and third acts of the Bank Job are very strong and flow together flawlessly. Going through the heist and it's detrimental implications is most of the fun in this film and really keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. Once this film gets rolling it really moves strong to the crafty payoff. Everyone throughout the film is great and really deliver's in each of the individual performances. The film doesn't try too hard at outhinking the viewer and as a payoff it feels very well done. Overall The Bank Job is a well done heist film that has dynamite payoff with some great twists and turns along the way.