| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Mark Wahlberg | ... | ||
| Charlize Theron | ... | ||
| Donald Sutherland | ... | ||
| Jason Statham | ... | ||
| Seth Green | ... | ||
| Yasiin Bey | ... |
Left Ear
(as Mos Def)
|
|
| Edward Norton | ... | ||
| Fausto Callegarini | ... |
Italian Guard
|
|
|
|
Stefano Petronelli | ... |
Garbageman /
Thug
|
|
|
Fabio Scarpa | ... |
Garbageman /
Thug
|
|
|
Cristiano Bonora | ... |
Garbageman /
Thug
|
|
|
Tiberio Greco | ... |
Garbageman /
Thug
|
| Jimmy Shubert | ... | ||
|
|
Tammi Cubilette | ... |
Second Detective
|
| Mary Portser | ... | ||
Led by John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) and Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) a team is assembled for one last heist to steal $35 million in gold bars from a heavily guarded safe in Venice, Italy. After successfully pulling off the heist, a team member, Steve (Edward Norton), driven by greed and jealousy, arranges to take the gold for himself and eliminate the remaining members of the group. Thinking the team dead, he returns to L.A. with the gold. Charlie and the survivors of this betrayal follow Steve L.A. to exact revenge against the traitor. Charlie enlists the help of John Bridger's daughter, Stella (Charlize Theron) - a professional safe cracker, to get revenge. With Stella and the hacking skills of Lyle (Seth Green), the explosives skills of "Left Ear" (Yasiin Bey), and the driving skills of "Handsome" Rob (Jason Statham) this new team plans and executes a daring heist that weaves through the freeways and subways of L.A. Written by CKnapp
John Bridger's gang of thieves are double crossed and left for dead after a daring gold raid in Venice. The surviving members regroup and convene in L.A. to enact revenge and recapture their gold.......the job is on!
This could have been a complete disaster, I'm British and the wave of revulsion that boomed in my homeland upon hearing of this remake was explosive; "how dare they remake a British institution" was the cry. Things were not helped in the run up to the film's release by it's main star {and drawing card} Edward Norton, proclaiming that the film was a contractual obligation and that fans of his work would be better advised to give The Italian Job a miss!
Had to be a stinker then surely? Actually no it isn't. Director F. Gary Gray hasn't remade the Italian Job of 1969, in fact he hasn't even re-imaged it, the minis are in there, the gold is in there, but all the stand out moments so beloved by many in the 69 film of the same name are not to be seen at all. So what we get is a very cool heist-come revenge movie-that's maybe a tad too glossy at times, but it's got a pretty sharp script, tight action sequences and a group of actors working very well as a team. Mark Wahlberg, Mos Def, Jason Statham, Seth Green and the delectably delicious Charlize Theron all come out smelling of roses, whilst Edward Norton really had no cause for concern because his portrayal as Steve is a smarmy delight.
I have jokingly titled this film Ocean's 5, but that is in no way detrimental to The Italian Job, it lacks the jazzy coolness of Soderbergh's Ocean's 11, but its a fun and enjoyable picture all in its own right, its rating of just under 7 here on IMDb is actually spot on. 7/10