Reasonable Thriller film not on a par with the original.

Rating: Null/10 (19 September 2004)

The film, per se, is not bad, but what I object to is its title. The Italian Job was a superb crime caper made in the sixties and took place, as its name suggests, in Italy. Here we have a film that starts out, true, in Venice, Italy but for the most part takes place in Los Angeles. There are some elements from the original, the three minis of course ( but which were much more of a showcase in the original ) plus the name Croker / Bridger which where a throwback to M Caine / N Coward.
The original Italian Job was a "highly funny and original" film, it had a comedy element in it ( notably with Benny Hill as the Computer Geek ). That was lacking here. This film could not be "remade" as it has a unique stamp to it. Even its ending was highly original, plus the theme tune "Self-PReservation Society".
The remake is devoid of any originality and just seems like normal crime thriller film with some good action scenes. There is no comedy and some of the action scenes are overblown with too much noise and also appear highly improbable. And it does not take place in Italy.
Basically, I have no objection to the existence of this film, but a different title should have been used, and certainly nothing hinting at the original. It's not a film that I will remember in future years unlike the original, which is a true "facet" of English culture of the Sixties. I'm seriously not one of these "systematically anti-remake" people but the case in point here is one that could have been dispensed with !!