The Italian Job (2003)
	Rating
	Type	Video On Demand
	Audience Rating	PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
	Release Date	2010-01-22
	Actor	Mark Wahlberg; Charlize Theron; Donald Sutherland; Jason Statham; Seth Green;
	Director	F. Gary Gray;
	Length	111 minutes
	Special Price
	Lowest New Price	$2.99
Categories
Crime  Crime & Criminals  Thrillers  Paramount
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Description
The plan was flawless, the job was executed completely, the escape was clean. The only threat mastermind thief Charlie Croker (Wahlberg) never saw coming was a member of his own crew. Afterwards pulling off an amazing gold bullion heist from a heavily guarded palazzo in Venice, Italy, Charlie and his gang inside man Steve (Norton), computer genius Lyle (Green), wheelman handsome Rob (Statham), explosives expert Left-Ear (Mos Def) and veteran safecracker John Bridger (Sutherland) can't think when one of them turns out to be a double-crosser. Enter Stella (Theron), a stunning nerves-of-steel safecracker, who joins Charlie and his former gang when they follow the backstabber to California, where they plan to re-steal the gold by tapping into Los Angeles' traffic control system, manipulating signals and creating one of the biggest traffic jams in LA history. Now the job isn't the payoff, it's concerning payback.
Customer Reviews
Very good movie.   2010-07-11
By Larry
I thoroughly enjoyed this good old-fashion action movie. There's really nothing thought provoking about it, so if that's what you are looking for, this is not the flick for you. There's several double crosses (which for the most part are pretty predictable), enjoyable car scenes and a hot chick. What more do you want. I thought the film was worth the money and have watched this film several times and still enjoy it.
Paramount drops the ball on a great movie............again   2010-07-05
By R.Henry (Bronx, NY USA)
Ever since I bought the DVD several years ago it has been in my personal rotation (playing on average twice a month). After getting my Blu-ray player I knew I had to have this film. The video transfer is barely better than the DVD and lacks a lossless soundtrack. It doesn't even have the DTS soundtrack advertised on the cover. This is an utter disappointment for an otherwise great movie. There were rumors that Paramount was going to re-release the Blu-ray with remastered video and a lossless audio track(the original soundtrack was excellent). But it has yet to surface(and probably never will). This was not worth the purchase and I would have been better served just enjoying my DVD version.
"Baby, go relax."   2010-05-29
By H. Bala (Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA)
As do-overs of Michael Caine pictures go, 2003's THE ITALIAN JOB, in my eyes, easily torpedoes the GET CARTER and ALFIE remakes. There's not much that this version has in common with the 1969 original, other than that both films showcase them cute, tiny Mini-Coopers (if you can't find parking, you could just pick them up, put them in your pocket). Mark Wahlberg isn't one of those demonstrative actors, he's from that strong silent mold of heroes. So, whether understated or merely bland - I'm not sure which - Wahlberg is likable and he provides the grounding element. THE ITALIAN JOB is fast-paced and stylish and clever, and the revenge sub-plot is always a good draw to pull in an audience. But what really makes this movie is the swaggering, irresistible cast supporting Wahlberg. The film kicks off at a stately mansion sitting over a canal in Venice, Italy as master planner Charlie Croker (Wahlberg) and his crew of specialists successfully pull off a heist of 35 million dollars in gold bullion. But as someone not that famous once said: "No battle plan has ever survived first contact with the enemy." Steve (a slimy Edward Norton) is Charlie's inside man and, it turns out, Steve is the dirtiest scoundrel of the bunch, and the greediest. He double crosses the team and murders Charlie's savvy old mentor (Donald Sutherland) and tries to kill everyone else. Steve walks away, alters his identity and moves to L.A., believing that everyone's dead. He keeps on believing this for one year. After which time Charlie finally locates him. And then you just sit back and soak in the gratifying bit of vengeance as it plays out. This is the movies, so I guess there's a suspension of disbelief involved when Charlize Theron is introduced as Estella Bridger, a gifted safecracker who freelances for police agencies. She gets recruited by Charlie Croker in his revenge plot against Steve, and it's personal for Estella because Charlie's murdered mentor also happens to be her father. This is one of those roles that's real easy to coast on, and yet Theron manages to demonstrate equal doses of emotional vulnerability and steeliness. She's also an absolutely sick driver which endears her to me even more. She and the rest of Mark Wahlberg's crew easily sell the movie for me. Handsome Rob (Jason Statham) is the hunky Cockney-talking wheel man. Left Ear (Mos Def, fabulously laid back) is the demolitions expert. Lyle (Seth Green) is the geeky computer tech and is the film's funniest character. Lyle claims that he invented Napster, which his college roommate Shawn Fanning stole while Lyle was, in fact, napping. Seth Green gets the lion's share of the funny lines ("You'll never shut down the real Napster."). There are some alarmingly fun, snazzy bits in this flick. Watching the actors zip around in their souped-up, tricked-out Mini-Coopers, I admit to a moment in which I contemplated getting me my own Mini. I absolutely cracked up during Seth Green's Napster bits and his improvisational impersonation of Handsome Rob. And then the hi-tech stuff, from gaining control of the stop lights to figuring out which of the decoy trucks is the real deal. As always, a huge part of enjoying the caper genre is in watching the plan coming together and then the execution of it. And then, because we anticipate the plan somehow going squirrely - it always does - we wonder how our guys will get themselves out of whatever scrape. And scrapes are guaranteed once the film throws in a scary Ukrainian mob boss and a massive Samoan who tends to tell his lady friend to "Baby, go relax." whenever he wants to get rid of her. As expected, Charlie Croker manages to work around these highly dangerous characters. THE ITALIAN JOB, I wouldn't call it a strikingly original heist thriller. But going by the huge appeal and chemistry of the cast, time will fly by even faster than those Mini-Coopers. Plus, it's hard to pass up a chance to ogle Charlize Theron. Can't wait for THE BRAZILIAN JOB, whenever that comes out. This is the Special Collector's Edition and the DVD's bonus features are: "Pedal to the Metal: The Making of THE ITALIAN JOB" (00:18:16 minutes); Screenwriters Donna & Wayne Powers talk about having their screenplay translated to screen (00:05:48); The cast goes to "Driving School," where Theron and Statham turn out to be the most competitive students (00:05:37); "The Mighty Minis" - a segment about the Mini-Coopers featured in the film (00:05:39); "High Octane" - about the film's 3 primary stunts: the boat chase thru the Venice canals, the truck drop, and the helicopter's game of chicken with Charlie's Mini-Cooper (00:07:52); 6 Deleted Scenes - one extended scene in a bar as some loser lawyer hits on Stella and five scenes with Charlie and the gang tearing around in the Mini-Coopers with Steve's helicopter and the law in hot pursuit (total running time: almost 9 minutes); and the theatrical trailer.
So Bad its...um...Bad   2010-05-21
By S D'Anconia (Tokyo)
Well well well. If I could, I would rename this film "Rediculosity". For it is one the most pointless, plotless Mini-Adverts I have ever had the mis-pleasure to watch. Speaking of Mini, I just bought one and so sat through this mental agony to see some nice shots of the car in action. In any event, I have never witnessed so much potential and talent wasted (except maybe in Godfather 3). Not much of a story or plot, and the stunts kill the suspension of disbelief for anyone with a functioning brain. Mind you, I like mindless fun but this movie didn't even do that for me. Somehow I can predict that this review will not be considered..."helpful"...as most people vote by whether they liked this film. And yet, if you enjoyed the first Italian Job (and I did), I can almost guarantee that this one will leave you flat and unfulfilled - kind of like the chick in the movie. I mean, where the "bleep" is Benny Blimey Hill anyway??? If you any of you have seen Billy Madison, there is this great line where someone (after listening to Billy answer a question) says "we are all stupider for having listened to that". Well, I sort of feel the same way about the time I wasted watching, and listening to this. :0 Cheerio!
mildly inspired by the original, should be called The LA Job . . .   2010-05-19
By trebe
Borrowing a few key elements, from the original 1969 film, the reworked version of The Italian Job (2003) is a slick, high tech affair that centers on revenge, rather than on executing an outrageously glorious theft, and bolstering national pride. In Venice, Italy, Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) masterminds the theft of a cache of gold bars worth 35 million. His team includes safecracker John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), driver Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), explosives expert Left Ear (Mos Def), point man Steve (Edward Norton), and electronics whiz Lyle (Seth Green). The heist goes smoothly, and the mood is celebratory, until Steve pulls a double cross, kills John Bridger, and the crew winds up trapped in an SUV, submerged under the ice of a frozen lake, dodging bullets. Moving forward a year, Croker discovers that Steve has surfaced in LA, going under the name of Steve Frazeli, and gathers his group together, to try and steal back the gold. Needing a safecracker, he turns to Bridger's daughter Stella (Charlize Theron), who happens to open safes for a living. The assembled team heads to California, to get the "LA Job" done. Edward Norton has a talent for playing obnoxious characters you love to hate, and the arrogant, sneering Frazeli, is the kind of vermin that deserves to be crushed like a roach. The man does have a keen instinct for survival, and quickly moves his stash of gold, when he discovers that he is a target. A swift closer of loose ends, he ruthlessly eliminates the Russian dealer who was exchanging his gold for cash. With his hand forced, and the Ukrainian mafia poking around, Croker has to quickly adjust his plans, and make a completely different play. The original Italian Job, was about English criminal, who with the backing of the British underworld, makes a play to steal a delivery of gold from the Fiat Company in Turin, Italy. Remarkably, few connected with the 2003 update, seemed familiar with the 1969 classic. The newer film is not a remake, or an adaptation, it is more of mutation, grabbing a few selected strands of original DNA material, and adding some high tech elements, purely American sensibilities, and coming out with something completely different. Prior to being commissioned to do the screenplay, the writers for the update, had also never even seen the original film. The few key story elements that migrate to the new film include, stolen gold bars, three mini cooper automobiles, looting an armored car, and the manipulation of traffic control systems. With Croker, Bridger and Left Ear, being predominantly behind the wheel, the mini Coopers are prominently featured, on the streets, and in subway tunnels, and the storm drain systems of Los Angeles. It's a short, but pretty cool ride, with Frazeli following the action from above, in a helicopter. The ending is PG-13 soft, without the satisfaction of seeing old Steve pounded down like a nail, and the gang finally getting to enjoy their ill gotten gains. They say it wasn't about the money, but it that just doesn't ring very true. The film could be much edgier, but things flow so smoothly for the gang, that there is never a feeling of real danger. And the writing is not as clever as it thinks it is. There is no commentary track, but the bonus featurettes cover the usual making of topics, plus things like the participants lack of familiarity with the original film, the writing of the screenplay, the stunts, and the driving training that the cast went through. An ultracompetitive Theron, evidently had great enthusiasm for the driving. Co-writers Donna and Wayne Powers seem extremely pleased with their screenplay, and how it was executed. That the original film was almost completely gutted, matters not. Interestingly, no interviews with Edward Norton appear in the featurettes. Although far from a homage to the original film, for what it is, "The LA Job" is a very slick, bold, fast moving, if superficial, action thriller, that mostly entertains. F. Gary Gray is apparently hands on director, who does have a flair for capturing action. The acting is not bad for a film of this type, with Wahlberg, Norton, and Theron being quite solid. Jason Statham, who is capable of much, much more, is an underused team player, and Donald Sutherland's appearance is brief, but impactful.