Aussie born director Roger Donaldson who shot to fame for his Kiwi films SMASH PALACE and NUTCASE, brings back the old-fashioned British heist caper long missed from our screens since the 70’s.  The Brits have steadily delivered heist and gangster films set in current times (SNATCH, CROUPIER, GANGSTER No. 1,) but the reason THE BANK JOB is set in the 70’s is that this film is based on an actual 1971 Lloyds Bank robbery at Marylebone, London.  Marylebone runs across Baker Street, in case one is wondering while watching the film as the sign of Baker Street near the targeted bank.  As the titles amusingly read at the end credits that the names and places have been changed to protect the guilty, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais’ script pits together an interesting assortment of characters from the robbers, the corrupt government officials to the London coppers. 

The hero of the piece is Terry Leather (Jason Statham) a car dealer in debt.  He is offered a way out when ex-flame Martine Love (Saffron Burrows) suggests a bank job involving safety deposit boxes.  Unfortunately, these boxes contain dirty secrets from shady crooks (from a Soho strip club owner to MPs to the royal family) who will stop at nothing to get the contents back.

Donaldson’s film is a tad too long at almost two hours with too many subplots.  But he moves the events efficiently and fast.  There is hardly a time to slip out to the toilet without missing out on a plot point.  At least a few details like how Martine and Terry met or the reason Terry is in debt are left out.  Each scene is tautly directed always getting the message across.  The smart script has something to please everyone – from the nasty torture scene with a blow torch to the leg for the macho males to the upholding of family values for the fairer sex in the audience.  But mostly, the baddies get their comeuppance while the hardworking get off, scot-free.

But it is the film’s characters that do the trick.  The supporting characters are well written and acted out, especially Tim Everett (Richard Lintern) a kind of evil James Bond and Soho club owner Lew Vogel (David Sachet).  The period atmosphere is created not only from the sets and music (song ‘Lola’ heard on the soundtrack) but the details in the props - Vogel enters a written entry into his ledger using a fountain pen; the ham radio etc..

Jason Statham’s last films (CRANK, WAR) have been short of plot.  THE BANK JOB has plenty of that as well as action and good old Brit. sarcasm as well.  All this should please the fans of the British gangster genre.