Friday, March 14, 2008

Movie Review: The Bank Job

It was a heist flick. It had Jason Statham. So naturally, I was expecting something along the lines of Snatch or Lock Stock and 2 Smokin'.

Nope.

Snatch and Lock Stock are both great heist flicks. They're gorey as all fuck, but it's so over the top they're like live-action cartoons. It's fake. You can laugh it off.

The Bank Job is nothing like. It's based on a true story, the infamous Lloyds break-in of 1971. The robbery was never solved. The details of how the robbery was committed are pretty true to form, but the details of who was involved, what was their motive, and what did they find in the vault are nearly complete speculation.

The thing is, because it's based on a real event, they didn't camp it up. It's dark. And it's grim. Very grim.

I spent a good deal of the film with my hands over my ears and my head in my lap. I just don't need images of a man having the flesh sandblasted off his feet in my head, thank you very much. Pirate and I have a new system: when I pull into my shell during the most gruesome bits, he strokes the hair on my head until it's safe for me to come out again.

If grizzly violence and realistic torture don't bother you, I can highly recommend this flick. For the rest of you: skip it.

Overall rating: 2 1/4 mangled corpses

3 comments:

FirstNations said...

from the way its been trailered here i'd thought it was one of those lighthearted caper flicks. damn. SANDBLASTED?
think i'll be skipping it.

on the other hand, just saw 300 and thought it was fantastic!

(pengies!!!!)

Unknown said...

Yikes. Think I'll give that one a miss. (Don't bother with The Other Boleyn Girl, either. Shitty shit shit.)

Moominmama said...

FN: yeah, that's what i thought. maybe that's why the gore was so hard to take -- i wasn't expecting it.

Hannah: really? damn, i was planning to see that. maybe i'll wait 'til it's on video. i mean, it's got natalie portman, how good can it be?