Movie: The Italian Job
Directed by F. Gary Gray; Written by Donna Powers and Wayne Powers
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Ed Norton (Paramount)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

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The Italian Job has a lot going for it: a high profile cast, superbly choreographed action and exotic locations; just don't analyze it too closely.

But wait that's my job isn't it? So, are there no other boats in the canals of Venice in the middle of the afternoon? Do all Mini-Coopers loaded with a ton of gold in the back handle so nimbly? (Is this really a two hour Mini-Cooper commercial?) Does LA have a traffic system that can be programmed from a laptop with a modem? Do all professional safecrackers look like Charlize Theron? Can I go to that planet soon?

Ed Norton seems to be in his element handling another asshole role of the kind that Gary Oldman used to take. Mark Wahlberg looks too good to be the brains of this outfit and Ms. Theron looks too good to be anything except on camera as much as possible. Donald Sutherland valiantly tries to lend the production some class but gets killed for his trouble early on.

Frankly, for the scam-heist genre I liked Edward Burns, Rachael Ward and Dustin Hoffman in Confidence a lot more, but it too has a lot of the same you-couldn't-possibly-plan-all-that-out problems. Still, F. Gary Gray has made sure The Italian Job is tightly plotted, fun entertainment - not a bad film at all, really. Just don't expect anything to stick with you the next day.

The Skinny:
Am I glad I saw the film? Yes, it was good at a popcorn kind of level.
Would I go to see it again? Once was enough.

© 2003 - Rusty Pipes