a very decent heist flick

Rating: Null/10 (17 October 2003)

I must confess I have not recalled having watched any Heist movies before, having missed out on 3 Kings and Ocean's eleven, both George clooney vehicles. The last show i watched resembling something of a heist was Out of Sight. Was it another Clooney show?
Hence comparing The Italian job to Out of Sight is a definite no-brainer. I was blown away by the elaborate plot, which was executed with much panache and finesse. The characters unfortunately were too one-dimensional. This was a movie in which the plot was the star and nothing else. Maybe i make an exception for Charlize Theron!
Lucily there is no love scene in this movie. Lesser plots would have been saddled with sappy romance, but the director instead chooses to inundate scenes of mark wahlberg and charlize thereon with hints of sexual tension. Maybe I'm unconsciously referring to Out of Sight, but subtlety is simply more effective.
I rate this movie the best Hollywood action movie i've watched in a long time, having sweared off hollywood after the disastrous Bad Boyz 2. Unfortunately Edward Norton can do much better I'm sure, having seen what he had achieved in American history X, Fight Club and Red Dragon.

Rating : 7.3