This was a very entertaining film from the get-go, and it simmers quite steadily, and maintains most of the tension throughout to the final act in a very satisfying conclusion. Even to the last bit of details as the film concludes with a few screens of text telling the viewer what happened to the characters later, the sense of irony on display is very funny. The casting was uniformily good and solid, Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows being the more recognizable of the cast as the story is about a bank heist in London in the early 1970s.
There is a charm and wit to the screenplay, but it never overwhelms the bank job storyline, nor undercuts the consequences as getting into the bank vault, which proves to be much easier than extricating the gang from further trouble from many fronts after the deed is done. Director Roger Donaldson (who directed that fine thriller "No Way Out" over 20 years ago, and many other films of note in between) has a steady and assured hand in the direction of the film. My audience was in tune with the film's cheeky's humor (laughing at all the right spots), and yet felt aghast when the film turns a bit dark in the final act), but had a fine time overall.
I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.
There is a charm and wit to the screenplay, but it never overwhelms the bank job storyline, nor undercuts the consequences as getting into the bank vault, which proves to be much easier than extricating the gang from further trouble from many fronts after the deed is done. Director Roger Donaldson (who directed that fine thriller "No Way Out" over 20 years ago, and many other films of note in between) has a steady and assured hand in the direction of the film. My audience was in tune with the film's cheeky's humor (laughing at all the right spots), and yet felt aghast when the film turns a bit dark in the final act), but had a fine time overall.
I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.
