Finally, a remake of the
1969 caper classic, "The Italian Job".
It's just what everyone in the movie industry has been
waiting for and it is the most anticipated film of the
year. Yeah, right. At first, I could not even
remember having ever heard of a film entitled "The
Italian Job", until I saw the trailer for the remake
with the mini-coopers driving down stairs and on sidewalks.
Those scenes brought back my memory of the film, which
starred Michael Caine, Benny Hill, and Noel Coward -- you
don't get much more British than that. But, why
remake it? The film was a classic. There was
no need to remake it.
The basic plot is simple. There are a gang of
thieves (Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Seth Green, Jason
Statham, Mos Def, Donald Sutherland) who steal $35 million
worth of gold. However, Norton double crosses the
rest of the gang, shoots the leader, and flees with the
loot. So, it is up to Wahlberg and Charlize Theron,
along with the rest of the crew, to exact revenge on
Norton and take back the gold which he originally stole.
How do they plan to steal it? Well, by rigging all
of the traffic lights in Los Angeles, creating the largest
traffic jam in history, and by driving mini-coopers, the
small cars that can drive on sidewalks and up and down
stairs, making their escape that much more complicated.
Phew, that was a lot of plot.
It was reported by several sources that Edward Norton
loathed working on this picture. He tried getting
out of his agreement with the picture, but could not do
so, and eventually decided to just ride it out and hope
for the best. His distaste for the material is very
evident on-screen. He looks unhappy and discontent
throughout the film and he smart-asses his way through
scenes that do not need such a deadpan delivery.
Mark Wahlberg is as rigid and overbearing as ever,
Charlize Theron is oddly misplaced in this picture, and
the only worthwhile performances come from Donald
Sutherland and Seth Green, for the mere fact that they
look happy to be involved with this flick.
I did not like the way they altered the film from the
original. Wahlberg takes over the role originally
portrayed by Michael Caine, Seth Green takes over for
Benny Hill, and the character played by Noel Coward is
left out altogether, and that really turns this from a
remake into an insult. How can you keep the
mini-coopers, and then ditch the Noel Coward character?
If you're going to do a remake, at least try and show some
respect.
Overall, this was not a bad picture; it just had no reason
to be made. The performances were not utterly
terrible, though Wahlberg seems to get worse with each
picture, instead of better. The action sequences
were enough to keep the audience entertained, though the
mini-coopers have lost some of their appeal. And,
the direction was pretty good, considering the director is
F. Gary Gray, someone who has never really had the
tendency to dazzle.
So, if you are not completely tired of caper and heist
films already, "The Italian Job" might tickle
your fancy, though the original is better by leaps and
bounds. Actually, just forget this film and go rent
"The Score" -- Norton looks happy in that film
and the plot is not totally different. Rethinking my
approach, you can wait until video to see this one.
