'Italian Job'
(Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton / R / 111 mins / Paramount Pictures)
Overview: In this remake, Mark Wahlberg will play Charlie Croker, a career criminal who heads a crew that masterminds a massive gold bullion heist. It is made possible when they create the largest traffic jam in Los Angeles history. While the traffic disables the populace (and the cops), the criminals are empowered by their use of Mini Coopers, which are incredibly fast cars but also small enough to travel on sidewalks and the subway system while the city and the cops are immobilized.
Verdict: The new cast of this remake is more decorative than quirky than the stone-faced bunch from 1969, but they get the job done nonethless! Wonderfully choreographed and entertaining, 'The Italian Job' ('03) is a pleasing, if preposterous, spectacle for sure, yet is an entertaining picture; classy and well executed. And sure the pint-sized automobiles get all the frame exposure - and rightly so - but it's the killer heist staged in gridlocked Los Angeles traffic that really steals the show! 'The Italian Job' ('03) is definitely a by-the-numbers heist flick, but thoroughly entertaining at the same time!
Reviewed by Russell A. Trunk
'Italian Job'