The Bank Job

If you liked “Lock Stock…” and “Snatch”, you’re sure to love this, a heist movie, a comedy, a tragedy and above all a film about old friends. Thrills and spills, scheming women, corrupt officials and close calls.

Tough guy turned family man Terry (Jason Statham) is offered one last job by old flame Martine (Saffron Burrows), one she claims is water tight. Her affair with a government official, however, makes her somewhat untrustworthy, unbeknown to Terry.

Terry rallies up his best accomplices and oldest pals to help crack the target, the safety deposit room of a local bank. What they don’t know is the government are in fact trying to obtain some pornographic material of an unnamed English princess being held there by a political activist who is blackmailing them.

As the team come together and make their intricate plans, more and more people become involved, with loved ones getting caught up in the trouble. Though Terry assures his wife that she and his two children are safe, he is soon found eating his words as he and the team find the pornographic materials and realise they have been played by both Martine and the government. However, of course, they manage to avoid handing them over without a fight, but with every victory comes consequence and the losses suffered by the team leave you questioning if it was all worth it.

Based on a true story of a robbery which took place in 1971, the story is aired for the first time in 30 years after the government ordered the press to be gagged on the matter. With no arrests ever made and no money recovered, “The Bank Job” is the story of innocent people being involved in a Royal scandal and paying the price for wanting more.

One not to miss, Jason Statham is, as ever, the master of the heist movie and indeed the loveable rogue. You can’t help but adore every member of the team and their various foibles, keeping you poised on the edge of your seat, willing them to succeed.

Amy Harper