Surprisingly good

Rating: 7/10 (12 July 2011)

If like me, you were expecting a mediocre remake of the Michael Caine film, then this film should come as a pleasant surprise. Aside from a brief shot of 1960's Michael Caine on a TV in one shot, most connections are nominal and the only logical explanation for any attempt to tie-in to the first film must be to do with financial support from BMW for the inclusion of their "new" Mini. In fact I found this about the only bit of the film that never really rang true, it's explained away because of the width of a corridor the gang need to drive down. However, unlike the first film where the original Mini was a quintessential element in the 'swinging London' British theme of the film and where its presence seemed logical with the England football team playing in Italy. In the new film any car of a similar size would have done the trick and using brand new red, white and blue Minis could only make the gang stand out like a sore thumb. Still, the pace is good, the actions flowing and the speedboat and helicopter stunt work are particularly notable. Whatever it's merits or otherwise, this film couldn't have anything like the impact the original Italian Job had when it was first shown, but if you watch the original now it does seem very dated. If you enjoyed Ocean's Eleven, then you'll enjoy this as well.