Stephen Orr
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Mar 14, 1999
- Messages
- 1,099
In another thread, someone complained that the Italian Job trailer gave away too much of the story. Fact is, it pretty much gives away the entire story. But guess what? It really doesn't matter, because The Italian Job is fun. That's the word -- fun. Even when you know exactly what's going to happen, you enjoy the ride getting there.
I saw the original Italian Job in the theater when I was a kid. The only thing the old and new films have in common is gold, traffic jams and little cars racing through tunnels. I always liked the last shot in the original film, with the gold on one end of the bus, the thieves providing the counterbalance on the other end.
As the new film opens, an aging safecracker(Donald Sutherland, in a very brief role) has teamed with his protege (Mark Wahlberg) for one last job in Venice -- hijacking a safe loaded with $35 million in gold bars. The heist goes off pretty much without a hitch, until one of the team members (Ed Norton, extremely hissable) double-crosses the whole team, leaving them all for dead, and making off with all the gold.
Story picks up one year later, as Wahlberg's character approached the safecracker's daughter (Charlize Theron), who is a master cracker in her own right, with a plan to steal back the gold from the man who killed her father.
Like I said, there's not a lot here that's not in the trailer, which the exception of a huge subplot concerning Norton and some other people he unknowingly crosses (which leads to a pretty nifty tie-up of loose ends).
I love a good caper, and watching everyone work together was terrific. The other team members are fun to watch. Seth Green is the computer wiz, Lyle, who claims to have created Napster, only to have it stolen by his college room mate. Jason Stathem is Handsome Rob, the wheel man, named for his abilities with the ladies. Mos Def is the explosives experts Left Ear, so named for a disability he received as a kid blowing up toilets. Late in the game comes Wrench, played by Franky G., a tinkerer who modifies the Mini Coopers that serve as the vehicles of choice for the final caper.
Other characters who contribute to the plot include extremely large tatooed Samoans, and the Russian mafia.
This is a good film to see with a crowd. The audience we saw it with laughed, applauded and cheered at all of the appropriate spots.
While I wouldn't pay a full evening ticket price for The Italian Job, I'd definitely see it at a matinee. Out of four stars, I'd give it a solid three. It's FUN!
I saw the original Italian Job in the theater when I was a kid. The only thing the old and new films have in common is gold, traffic jams and little cars racing through tunnels. I always liked the last shot in the original film, with the gold on one end of the bus, the thieves providing the counterbalance on the other end.
As the new film opens, an aging safecracker(Donald Sutherland, in a very brief role) has teamed with his protege (Mark Wahlberg) for one last job in Venice -- hijacking a safe loaded with $35 million in gold bars. The heist goes off pretty much without a hitch, until one of the team members (Ed Norton, extremely hissable) double-crosses the whole team, leaving them all for dead, and making off with all the gold.
Story picks up one year later, as Wahlberg's character approached the safecracker's daughter (Charlize Theron), who is a master cracker in her own right, with a plan to steal back the gold from the man who killed her father.
Like I said, there's not a lot here that's not in the trailer, which the exception of a huge subplot concerning Norton and some other people he unknowingly crosses (which leads to a pretty nifty tie-up of loose ends).
I love a good caper, and watching everyone work together was terrific. The other team members are fun to watch. Seth Green is the computer wiz, Lyle, who claims to have created Napster, only to have it stolen by his college room mate. Jason Stathem is Handsome Rob, the wheel man, named for his abilities with the ladies. Mos Def is the explosives experts Left Ear, so named for a disability he received as a kid blowing up toilets. Late in the game comes Wrench, played by Franky G., a tinkerer who modifies the Mini Coopers that serve as the vehicles of choice for the final caper.
Other characters who contribute to the plot include extremely large tatooed Samoans, and the Russian mafia.
This is a good film to see with a crowd. The audience we saw it with laughed, applauded and cheered at all of the appropriate spots.
While I wouldn't pay a full evening ticket price for The Italian Job, I'd definitely see it at a matinee. Out of four stars, I'd give it a solid three. It's FUN!
