Gets the job done

Rating: Null/10 (8 April 2020)

The Italian Job is a 21st century remake of a 1969 British caper film starring Michael Caine. And they certainly didn't pull any punches with this one. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Jason Statham, Donald Sutherland, Seth Green, Mos Def and so many others. This is what I think of when the term ensemble film is mentioned.
The plot goes that a team of criminals get betrayed by one of their own. They barely survive and vow revenge. Time pass and they manage to locate their betrayer. And now it's up to them to pull a heist against one of their own to get their loot back. It's workable, if not particularly inspired.
And that's probably the biggest problem with this film. It's workmanlike. Everything in it is as it should be, but at the same time it's very formulaic and nothing new is really added to the tired and old clichés.
That being said, it's a fun film to watch. All the actors are clearly having fun with it. Most notably Seth Green, who's having an absolute blast with every scene he's in. Edward Norton is as great as ever, although the script doesn't give him much to work with. I do hope they had given the main characters, mainly Wahlberg and Theron, a bit more to chew, but as I've said: workmanlike.
The Italian Job is a great watch if you're a fan of caper films. If you're not, it's still a relatively short, breezy film that's sure to keep you entertained.