Released earlier this year to very strong critical praise, The Bank Job had a solid (if unspectacular) run in theaters and is now looking for heavy DVD sales and rentals releasing in this special 2-disc set and also a standard one-disc.

The film is based on the true story of the 1971 Baker Street bank robbery which hasn’t been detailed out to the public because of a gag order from the British government in place for over thirty years.  The film begins with the set-up: Martine Love (Saffron Burrows) is arrested at the airport for trying to sneak drugs in to Britain but is bailed out by her boyfriend Tim (Richard Lintern) who works for the British secret service.  Tim is put in charge of recovering very sensitive photos of a certain princess engaged in some lewd acts. 

The photos are in the possession of a Black Power warlord named Michael X (Peter De Jersey) who is using the photos as blackmail to get out of the country before being arraigned.  Michael X has the photos in a security box at a bank on Baker Street in London that was recommended to him by fellow criminal and porn king Lew Vogel (David Suchet).

Tim needs to break in to the bank to get the photos but he can’t risk the government being linked back to this.  So he has Martine contact some of her old childhood friends who are all small time criminals and hoods to do the score for him.  Martine gets in touch with her old friend Terry Leather (Jason Statham) and comes up with a believable lie on how easy it would be for him to break in to the vault.  Terry is skeptical at first but after taking a look at the vault and the scenario in front of him, he realizes this could truly be the big score that gets him and his family out of the gutter.

So Terry gets his two closets friends Kevin (Stephen Campbell Moore) and Dave (Daniel Mays) to assist and they go about planning the heist.  But then things go from complicated to dangerously out of control quickly when the heist becomes public news and all the players that stand to lose from certain items being exposed begin to play their cards.  Terry and his friends end up on the run from some of the most dangerous people in Britain (and that’s not just the criminals).    

CRITIQUE

The Bank Job is a thoroughly entertaining, well-crafted heist thriller that manages to delve into an incredible amount of detail while maintaining a tight and tense tone.  This is a gripping, gritty little film that may not be the very best heist film out there but is definitely in the upper echelon.  The direction is exceptional and the cast is marvelous, especially the star-making turn from Jason Statham who finally finds the perfect vehicle.

This is a twisty, layered story that mixes in a load of different narratives and characters and it seems like that will be too much and that it couldn’t possibly tie out in the end, but it sure does (in a very satisfying way).  I have to give credit to the screenwriters Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais for accomplishing this remarkable task without sacrificing the meat of the film which is Terry at its center. 

The director Roger Donaldson (Thirteen Days, No Way Out, The Recruit) keeps the film going at an ideal pace and maintains a tone of mounting tension and dread which suits a film like this perfectly.  The film looks and feels very much like a film from the time it is set in: the 70s.

This is a gritty, gray film that gets the period down flat.  Donaldson fashions an intense and entertaining thriller with the focus squarely on character and on story without resorting to unnecessary action scenes, goofy gadgets, cool cars or visual tricks just to get the audience’s attention.  Much like he did with Thirteen Days, this is a dialogue-heavy thriller with a meaty story that requires some intelligence while never pandering down.

The cast is remarkable, and what a huge cast it is.  There are so many supporting roles I could go on and on.  But the main reason this film works as well as it does isn’t the interesting story, the solid direction, or the supporting players.  It is the star-making turn from Jason Statham.  Statham has had a bunch of roles in films that barely qualify as B-movies.

But even in most of those stinkers he’s been pretty entertaining and engaging.  His small role in The Italian Job is probably the only other time he’s truly had quality material to work with and he was well-received in that one even though he had very limited screen time. 

With this film, he finally is given a lead role in a first-rate film and he absolutely knocks it out of the park.  He is definitely our generation’s Steve McQueen.  Here’s to hoping he doesn’t go back to the crap films again (although I was very pained to see he signed on to Crank 2 and The Transporter 3).

Again, the supporting cast is terrific and there are so many players it’s difficult to single anyone out.  Burrows is great here and shows she has some interesting range and is definitely not just a pretty face.  I think the most memorable supporting role though is from Peter De Jersey as Michael X.  He is fierce and constantly entertaining in the role.    

THE VIDEO

The anamorphic widescreen transfer in 2.35:1 looks great, given the gritty, gray tones.  This isn’t a film that visually pops out at you with vivid colors and crispness; it’s somewhat muted and dark (which suits it perfectly).

THE AUDIO

The Bank Job is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the presentation is exceptional.  This is a spot-on audio presentation with crystal clear dialogue and active surround in the limited action sequences.

THE EXTRAS

First thing to know is that this is not really a 2-Disc set.  The second disc is only a digital copy of the film if you’re one of those weirdos who likes watching movies on a tiny little iPod screen.  So the film and the extras are all really on one disc.  This is the new DVD gimmick the studios are trying.

As far as real extras go, there is an Audio Commentary with Director Roger Donaldson, Saffron Burrows, and Composer J. Peter Robinson that is an informative discussion on all aspects of making the film.  It’s not very exciting or entertaining but sufficiently dives into the different areas of the film.  It is too bad they couldn’t have gotten Statham on this to add a little spark or humor.  This commentary track just isn’t lively or entertaining enough to warrant a recommendation.

There are two featurettes included.  The first is called Inside The Bank Job which is your standard, run-of-the-mill making-of running about fifteen minutes with behind-the-scenes footage and discussion with cast and crew on what went into making the film.  Even though it’s pretty basic stuff here I found it to be worth more than the commentary track because you get basically the same information (just obviously in less detail) and it’s brisk and short (the commentary just isn’t entertaining enough to warrant two hours of your time). 

The second featurette is the big draw to this 2-Disc set and is well worth the time.  It is called The Baker Street Bank Raid and is a nicely detailed historical look at the actual robbery.  It includes some archival footage and interviews with historians, policemen, the people involved in the heist and the filmmakers.  It runs about fifteen minutes and is a must see.

Finally there are some Deleted and Extended Scenes with optional commentary from the director on why they were cut.  These are mostly small bits with no real meat so it is fairly obvious why they were cut.

Disc 2 contains a digital copy of the film that you can transfer to your favorite portable device.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Bank Job is a thoroughly engaging and entertaining heist thriller that mixes in a lot of different characters and storylines and still manages to keep everything tense, gripping and clear.  The direction is first rate and the cast is exceptional, especially the star-making turn from Jason Statham who is finally given some great material to chew on.  This 2-Disc DVD set is a bit phony as the second disc is just a digital copy, but it does include a terrific extra on the real robbery.