The Bank Job

Starring: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore 
111 Minutes
Directed by Roger Donaldson

Plot:

Terry Leathers (Jason Statham) is a small-time con man and thief. His used car business is in trouble, and his wife is ready to pack up the kids and leave.

Martine Love (Saffron Burrows) is also in trouble. She brings a job to Terry that can get them both out of trouble and onto easy street.

They assemble a team and break into the bank, not knowing that this particular branch holds many dark secrets, from the Royal family to the vilest drug lord. When everyone is after you, one has to think on their feet to survive.

Review:

The Bank Job is a typical heist movie at first glance. A cast of luckless characters are all assembled for the break-in. That's when the movie gets creative. There are several twists to the plot, and it includes one of the most horrific, cringe-worthy torture scenes I've seen in a while, involving slowly removing someone's ankles with a sandblaster.

The hapless crooks break into an unknown tunnel, and then cut into the bank's floor. Everyone's happy as they dump as much loot from the safe deposit boxes into their bags. Unfortunately, that loot includes incriminating evidence of a Royal having illicit sex, rich men's secrets collected by a bordello owner, and a violent drug lord's property. As soon as they separate, everyone in the United Kingdom is after them. The thieves are getting killed off one by one until Jason Statham's character calls a truce and returns the Royal photos.

The Bank Job was quite enjoyable. Mrs. Pickle loves watching Statham doing anything, so she was happily distracted. The twists and turns were logical, and one of the things I enjoyed was problems did develop, and they had to adjust to continue. Watching MI-6 observing in the background was clever, and the characters were well-developed and likable.

I'd give this one four stars, and I'd pick it up on DVD to watch again in the future.