Going to the theater and watching “The Italian Job” is a lot like visiting a nice restaurant and ordering a burger and fries. You know it’s not the best thing on the menu, but it’s tasty and satisfying. It’s comforting in its predictability. You get your money’s worth. Plus, with “The Italian Job,” you also get Charlize Theron, which is much nicer than that wedge of pickle that comes with the burger.
This movie is a remake of a 1969 film starring Michael Caine about a heist using Mini Coopers and set in Italy. The new movie keeps the heist and the Mini Coopers, plops Mark Wahlberg in the lead role and shifts the setting to Los Angeles. The location change sounds motivated more by budget demands than story needs, if you ask me. You can almost hear the studio exec braying “I know it’s called “The Italian Job,” but it will be sooo much more cost-effective if we do it in LA.”
The movie opens with a major gold theft in Venice, Italy Ð I suppose just so they can retain the original’s title for name recognition. A colorful band of professional thieves led by Wahlberg do the job, and they’re the prerequisite rogues needed nowadays for cinematic grand larceny. We’ve got the wheelman, the demolitions expert, the tech guy, the old pro on one last job, etc. The heist is loud and visual and the ensuing chase through the Venetian canals is generically exciting.
Then before our heroes can split up the loot, they are double-crossed by one of their own (Edward Norton). He steals their gold, kills their mentor (Donald Sutherland), and leaves the rest for dead. This development is not so much surprising as it is reassuring. It lets you know that the plot is on track. And trust me, I’m not giving too much away here. You know Sutherland’s toast from the film’s opening moments when he calls his darling daughter to announce he’s on his last job. The dude might as well wear a bullseye on his chest. Hasn’t he seen any movies?
Sutherland also gets dispatched so our heroes have more motivation to go after the bad guy. I guess they can’t just want their gold back. Is there some rule in the Hollywood Handbook that says you can’t be greedy and a good guy? So now jump forward a year, Wahlberg has tracked Norton down to LA and he reassembles his crew for the big payback score. But he’s going to need the skills of his dead pal’s daughter (Charlize Theron), who happens to be an expert safecracker just like her old man.
Like “Ocean’s Eleven” and “The Thomas Crown Affair” Ð two more recent remakes of ‘60’s caper films Ð the pleasure in watching this movie doesn’t come from wondering if they’re going to pull off the big job, but rather how. And also like those other films, most of your enjoyment is derived from watching appealing actors execute some clever tricks. While most of the cast is zesty and fun, however, the leads could use some work.
Wahlberg and Norton are two of the blander nemeses in contemporary movie memory Ð it’s like watching a showdown between vanilla and french vanilla. I like Wahlberg as a supporting player (most notably in “The Perfect Storm” and “Three Kings”), but I don’t think he has the chops yet to be the top dog. His Charlie Croker reminds you of how good George Clooney and Pierce Brosnan were when they stepped into another actor’s shoes for their remakes. Wahlberg’s crew doesn’t really follow him because he inspires loyalty; they do it because his name is above the title.
Now Norton is usually an easy sell for me, but his normal appeal is absent from this flick. He’s not bringing anything to the role except some bad facial hair. It’s not that he’s miscast because Norton’s played smarmy characters to great success in “Rounders” and “The Score.” He just doesn’t even seem to be trying this time out. His bad guy isn’t menacing or even vaguely puckish. He’s more like the bad ass on your high school chess team.
It’s lucky for the audience that the remaining cast has sufficient personality to carry this flick. Every member of Wahlberg’s crew gets a chance to shine. They each have a unique backstory, which helps dull the stereotypes. Jason Statham from “Snatch” and “The Transporter” is a smooth criminal as the womanizing wheelman, Handsome Rob. He has a casual chemistry with co-stars Seth Green (Oz from “Buffy”) and Mos Def (“Showtime” and “Brown Sugar”). Green’s charm makes his character more than the token cyber geek while Mos Def gives his demolitions man a healthy dose of street-wise humor.
And let’s not underestimate the contribution of the lovely Charlize Theron. Basically, I could be entertained watching store surveillance video of her shopping for groceries (not that I have, mind you, but I could). This girl’s got style and while her choices haven’t always been solid Ð “Sweet November” and “The Legend of Bagger Vance” come to mind Ð you can’t discount the old movie magic she brings to the screen.
Theron is both spunky and fragile as Stella, the tentative thief who joins up to get revenge on the creep who blew away her dad. She’s a movie star even if her box office clout doesn’t justify it yet. Only Charlize (and Catherine Zeta Jones) can save us from drab divas like Julia Roberts and Hilary Swank. She brightens up this flick without even trying. One of these days, Ms. Theron is going to connect with the right film and then, look out world.
Every heist movie comes down to the heist and “The Italian Job” doesn’t disappoint. The film’s climax zips along as speedily as the trio of Mini Coopers our heroes use to make their escape. These little cars add a lot of pizzazz to what might have been a stale chase. It’s rare that you see a car actually exude personality on screen like the Mini Cooper does in this film. Director F. Gary Gray (“The Negotiator” and the recent “A Man Apart”) uses the cars to great effect as he stages a serpentine but brisk pursuit through the subways and streets of Los Angeles.
A side note: I had the pleasure of catching this film during a sneak preview and we were informed that we were watching a “work in progress.” This was not a final cut of the film and there would be some tweaks made to the audio mix, soundtrack and a few other details before “The Italian Job” premiered in theaters. I doubt there will substantial changes so I’m comfortable in standing by my review, but the film’s unfinished status did provide one amusing anecdote.
During the big chase scene in the third act, the film stopped. I don’t know if it broke or if the movie was missing footage from a re-shoot to be inserted later, but the screen went white and the house lights came up. The audience groaned and some actually headed for the exits. I guess some naïve moviegoers thought that a “work in progress” meant the film didn’t have a conclusion. I looked around, expecting a cadre of market researchers to descend upon us with clipboards in hand. Art succumbs to commerce as the suits now let the consumer determine the outcome of their latest product. Forget what you thought of the ending – hey, Joe Moviegoer: THINK UP AN ENDING!
My theory got a few chuckles out of the crowd and then the lights dimmed and the film flickered back to life. We were brought back to the action mid-chase so I assume we only missed a few seconds of the actual movie. The flick ends like you suspect. Not too original, but pleasing nonetheless. “The Italian Job” is an enjoyable movie, well-crafted with a solid cast and a few surprises. I might even be lured back into the theater to catch it in its final form, which was probably the point of all that “work in progress” hoopla.
Of course, if my little market research scenario had been true, I know how I would have filled out my comment card. Give me more Charlize Theron, especially scenes of her grocery shopping . . . in a Mini Cooper . . . buying Ben and Jerry’s ice cream . . . with a monkey. Because gang . . . I’m only human, Charlize Theron is a total babe, the Mini Cooper is one snazzy little automobile, I love Ben and Jerry’s and every movie is better with a monkey in it.
Until next time . . .
