Bogged Down in Traffic...
There are two
major flaws with this production. The first is
the astonishing implausibility of the heist
itself. For viewers to be even remotely excited
about a heist flick or an escape flick, it is of
utmost importance that the plot has some
semblance of logic, based in reality. Sure, we
all want to see amazing things when we go to the
movies... but when your first reaction is to
roll your eyes and chuckle, any tension the film
may have been building dissipates in to absolute
nothingness. If you allow yourself to actually
put some serious thought into the specifics of
the plot, it becomes instantly laughable. (Note
to the filmmakers -- Traffic is traffic,
regardless of green-lights or red-lights).
The second flaw lies with the monotonous nature
of the film. There are no peaks and valleys of
excitement in 'The Italian Job'... it's
uniformly mediocre from start to finish. The
opening scenes are somewhat entertaining, the
middle third of the movie is busy and
repetitive, and the final act is anti-climactic.
I suppose the filmmakers thought that a
car-chase would appease the audience. However,
car-chases are meant to be an exciting little
slice of entertainment within a movie, not the
ultimate destination. When the credits start to
roll, you will find yourself asking... "That's
it?"
Speaking of the credits... the denouement of the
film lies in the cheesy recounting of 'what all
the characters went on to do'. Each character
gets a momentary voice-over and video-clip
buried in amongst the credits. It is a cheap way
to wrap up a film. Couldn't they have exerted a
little more effort and lengthened the film by
two minutes? Everything about this movie seems
half-hearted.
It's not the kind of film that many will want in
their DVD collection... you'd do better to watch
'Ocean's Eleven' for the umpteenth time, or any
David Mamet film for that matter.
©
Written by TC Candler
Richard
Propes' Comment
This film
definitely feels like a stepchild to "Ocean's
11" with its buddy flick approach to a
caper/adventure flick. It's not really that
anyone does an awful job here, but they simply
did it in a more entertaining way in "Ocean's
11."
Jacob
Hall's Comment
"The Italian Job" is the perfect popcorn movie:
plenty of exciting action, some very funny
comedy, and a rather simplistic plot that allows
you to turn off the logic switch and just enjoy
the ride.
It's like a combination of "Reservoir Dogs" and
"Heat," with Mini Coopers instead of strong
violence and real intrigue.
