This is not a remake

Rating: 6/10 (14 February 2004)

Maybe it was because Michael Caine turned 70 or maybe it was because there was a remake' of The Italian Job in cinema's around the world, but halfway the August of 2003 the BBC aired this film. That gave me a somewhat unique chance to go and see this version of The Italian Job before seeing the remake', since the 1969 version was not for rent or buy anyplace I could think of. Now there were basically two reasons for me to see this film, first of all because I think Michael Caine is a good actor and second of all because it is rumored to be a classic. Well I did not find this film to be a classic. Sure the car chases were well filmed (and probably spectacular for 1969), but they didn't do much for me. Neither did any of the acting or the story. Also I found the music to be quite irritating at times (especially in the applauding scene near the ending, which dragged on and on and well you get the idea!). Nevertheless, this is not a total stinker, it just isn't anything special. If I were you I'd skip this one and see the remake', something I did a while after seeing the 1969 version.

The thing with the remake' is that is actually not a remake. The only things these films have in common are the heist, the Mini's and the title. That's is. The underlying story in the 2003 is a lot better and more elaborate than the story in the 1969 version. It also leaves much more room for character development and all of that adds to the excitement of the film. Also the actors are a lot better in this film, than they were in the original. No offense to Michael Caine, but the average actor in this film, was much better than the average actor in the 1969 film of the same name, even when Edward Norton made a somewhat pale' performance. I hate to say it, but his character in this film, was about the worst I've seen him portray yet (which does not mean that he was bad though). Charlize Theron on the other hand surprised me a bit, with the depth and emotion she brought to her character.

The action scenes were good as well and the heist(s) were very well planned, executed and filmed as well, but despite all of these good things I did not feel that this was a great film. It just lacked that extra edge and excitement at times. That extra edge, ironically is originality. Whereas this film succeeds in portraying a very original story and original heist(s), some of the characters missed a bit of originality, as did some of the dialog and a twist or two. In conclusion I'd have to say that the 2003 version of The Italian Job is not a classic, but definitely worth a look, since it is better than it's predecessor carrying the same name.

The Italian Job (1969): 5 out of 10

The Italian Job (2003): 7,25 out of 10