Italian Job - Movie Review Example

Task: Movie Review: The Italian Job (2003) The Italian Job is an action-packed drama that became one of the best productions of its time. This movie attributes its setting on the 1969’s Paramount Pictures classics. The individuals that wrote this story are of worldwide recognition and fame. The scriptwriters are Donna and Wayne Powers and Troy Kennedy-Martin. The movie director was F. Gary Gray. The Italian Job was Gray’s second release in that year, 2003, after the hit “A Man Apart- Michael Hastings, Rovi’ in which the speedster, Vin Diesel starred. In the Italian Job, the actors consisted of renowned individuals including Mark Wahlberg, Donald Sutherland, Edward Norton, Jason Stratham, Seth Green and Charlize Theron and Mos Def. The Setting The setting of the movie suggests that the target audiences are the youth and adults. The graphics and action in the movie clearly provokes mind interpretation and, thus, is rather inappropriate for a much younger audience. In addition to the youth, the public can learn a few lessons from this movie about partnerships and friendships. Further, this movie gets set in a societal context that amplifies its relevance to its target audience. The movie won five awards and these include Taurus Award (2004), Casting Society of America (COLA) Award (2004), COLA (2003), Black Reel (2004) and ASCAP award (2004). In addition to these awards, the movie was nominated seven times to some of the famous awards including BET awards and Saturn awards. This movie bears similarity to the 1969 version, which featured the Italian mafia. However, this movie has a contemporary setting that surely fits the description of The Italian Job. The Plot The Italian Job starts with a well-planned theft engineered to take possession of gold bars of value amounting to $35 million from a heavily guarded safe in Venice, Italy. The team that undertakes this endeavor is under the leadership of Charlie(Mark Wahlberg). The crew was to share the spoils of their score when greed got the better of one of them, Steve (Edward Norton). Steve opts to kill all the other crewmembers and elope with the score. Convinced that others are all dead Steve takes the gold bars and moves to Los Angeles with the intent of selling them in the black market. As it emerges, Steve only killed John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), their mentor. A year later, Charlie puts the crew back together and enlists Stella Bridger (Charlize Theron), John’s daughter and a professional safecracker. The other crewmembers include computer genius Lyle (Seth Green) wheelman Handsome Rob (Jason Stratham) and Left-Ear (Mos Def), the explosive expert. The crew intends to go after Steve. However, this attempt gets it drive from revenge rather than the monetary value of the catch. Every player of this crew has something to avenge, and the recruit, Stella gets her motivation from the fact that the mark is the same man who killed her father and this alleviate her reluctance to join the crew. The endeavor proves tough since the stage is in L.A. Further, the traitor, Steve proves to be a step ahead at almost every turn, and the cost of the revenge is not as cheap as the crew anticipated. In essence, the twists and turns that almost make the endeavor a wild goose chase serve to maintain the suspense of the setting and keeps everyone guessing on the next step. The stunts in this movie are breathtaking, and graphics in the setting facilitate their success. Evaluation The movie has numerous strengths. However, though the setting had the intent of being flawless, a few points do not conform to the intent. Nonetheless, the movie comes out on top. It is evident that the movie has enough panache to keep it afloat as an enjoyable film. The charm that each character brings to the table serves well to ensure this film achieves the standard that this genre gets associated. Stratham. Green, Def and Sunderland bring about their well-known performances. The fact that the latter’s stunts come out on top even when the script gets predictable and predetermined adds to the charm. With this, it is safe to say that the scriptwriter captured all the actors’ talents and used them to the film’s advantage. At the time, rumor had it that Norton only played a role in this film because of a contractual agreement that bound him to do so. That notwithstanding, he brought out an outstanding performance as the villain. Further, the fact that Steve, in the movie, did not go down without a proper fight makes the movie click to its audience expectations and beyond. The most outstanding actor from this film, in my view, is the Stratham who not only keeps his calm throughout the running time but also comes out well enough to impress the audience with little effort. A speedster is always a thriller to the audience, and the test-drives that the crew carries out among within themselves serves well to make the stunts as real as can be. The movie, though having numerous intriguing twists, has some minor shortcomings. The film, considering it is a remake of Michael Caine caper film, does not seem to invoke deep imaginative features relevant to this genre. This only is countered by enough panache that keeps the audience from noting this flaw. Another point that the movie does not entirely cover is comic relief. The audience has to remain glued to the storyline, and comic relief would aid in this process. In an attempt to incorporate this, character of the computer genius, Lyle, tries to bring in humor. The problem is that the jokes in the motion picture are rather technical, and thus, may evade the cognition of most of the audience. Other than this, the movie rates among the best of its time. The movie invoked in me the deepest instincts with regards to trust. This movie brought out the breach of trust and breaking of friendship ties. Betrayal that is evident in the beginning serves to create awareness of trust issues within relationships and partnerships. Further, the cost of revenge also hit me as I watched the crew go to extraordinary heights to take revenge against their colleague-turned-enemy. The movie only falls a few points short of becoming the best of all time. Conclusion The fact that The Italian Job is a remake of Michael Caine caper film, it does not disappoint. The importance of the setting of this film roots itself on the dedication of the actors and the key players behind the making of this film. With proper production and directing, this film appeals to the public since it captures key aspects of societal beliefs and expectation from individuals; loyalty and reliability. Further, the graphics remain the most preferred because it brings out the storyline with only moderate language, violence, drugs and consumerism. It is one movie all others would be careful to watch. Work Cited The Italian Job - Movie Review - Reviews and Ratings for The Italian Job. Commonsense Media N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013 http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/italian-job The Italian Job (2003) - IMDb. N.p., n.d. Web.[ Accessed 15 Feb. 2013] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317740/ Read More