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May 30, 2003
By Veronica Mixon
Director F. Gary Gary refuses to call
The Italian Job
a remake but rather an adaptation of
the 1960s heist film that starred a
youthful Michael Caine and Noel Coward.
This film is certainly updated with
the latest hi-tech gadgets and breathtaking
actions scenes of boats racing through
the peaceful canals of Venice and sporty
mini cars dashing between people to
avoid the clogged streets of Los Angeles.
The Italian Job
is a sleek, smart fast-paced thriller
with a good cast and some clever plot
moves.
A crew of thieves is lead by the Charlie
Croker (Mark Wahlberg) and his old-time
safecracker John Bridger (Donald Southerland).
Charlie has put together a tight team
- the inside man, Sam (Edward Norton,
Fight Club), computer geek
Lyle (Seth Green, Austin Powers
), wheelman Handsome Rob (Jason
Statham, The Transporter )
and explosives expert Left-Ear (Mos
Def). However, after pulling off a sweet
heist in Venice, the crew is double
crossed and loose the money. Charlie
never saw it coming! Eventually, he
asks Stella (Charlize Theron) to join
them in exacting their revenge.
Even though Edward Norton only joined
this cast for The Italian
Job due to contractional
obligations, he can be proud of this
sophisticated thriller. He's played
this angry undercover heist guy before,
but Norton gives Sam a ballsy strength
and an empty vulnerability at the same
time. After snatching the money, Sam
buys all of the big-ticket items that
the other crew members lusted for. He
has no clear ideas of his own. "He
has no imagination," says Charlie.
Mark Wahlberg looks a lot more comfortable
in "The Italian Job" than
he did in Jonathan Demme's The Truth
About Charlie. He's still making
good choices as far as working with
talented people. He's still handsome
eye candy and he compliments the beautiful
Charlize Theron (Celebrity),
who proved to the best driver in the
film and off the set as well. There
are several running jokes about the
guys -- Lyle insists on being called
'the Napster' based on an incident from
college, Left-Ear got his nickname after
an explosion as a kid and Handsome Rob
collects women fans everywhere.
Gary Gray (Set It Off with
Queen Latifah, The Negotiator
with Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson
and A Man Apart, with Vin Diesel)
is a crossover success because he's
one of only a handful of African American
directors who get to helm big budget
studio films. The Italian
Job is has the right mix
of action, drama and comic antics as
the characters race across Venice, the
Swiss Alps and downtown Los Angeles.
This thriller is rollicking good fun!
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