Gary Gray's version is tauter, better made but insufficiently idiosyncratic to attract a cult following.
Comment
05/06/08
The Italian Job (2003)
73 %
Reviews Counted: 174 Fresh: 127 Rotten:47 Average Rating: 6.4/10
Consensus:
Lacks the wit of the original, but it's still a fun ride.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Synopsis: The plan was flawless... the job was executed perfectly... the escape was clean. The only threat mastermind thief Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) never saw coming was from a member of his own crew. After pulling off an amazing gold bullion heist from a heavily guarded palazzo in Venice, Italy,... [More]
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Mos Def, Seth Green
Director: F. Gary Gray
Screenwriter: Donna Powers, Wayne Powers
Producer: Donald De Line
Composer: John Powell
Screenwriter: Donna Powers, Wayne Powers
Producer: Donald De Line
Composer: John Powell
Reviews
Itresembles a film made up on the fly. The cast, too, are strictly cut from comic books. Don't expect any unconventional endings either.
02/09/06
Top Critic
Memories of the 1960s caper classic are obliterated by this pointless remake, which uncomprehendingly salvages a few elements from the original, while behaving as if no one involved cared or liked it much anyway.
10/01/03
Top Critic
"Wahlberg once again demonstrates his unique ability to suck the colour out of a character like some bloated charisma mosquito."
09/19/03
Peter Collinson's The Italian Job (1969) is not a great film -- it's an average film with a great finale. Oh, and another thing: F Gary Gray's remake blows the bloody doors off it.
09/09/03
Top Critic
It has little to do with the original film but it’s stylishly directed and has an infectious sense of fun.
08/17/03
Unlike the original, this Mini adventure lacks a single defining moment. But, as Michael Caine remakes go, it's way better than Get Carter.
08/01/03
Top Critic
Despite leaving out the charm and cheekiness of the earlier film, this is an efficient and enjoyable romp.
06/15/03
To be honest, there are moments when logic and reason take a holiday here.
05/24/03
Top Critic
This one offers some agreeably mindless fun in which the villains (including Norton) are truly villainous, the payback is satisfying in a purely infantile way, and the familiarity of everything is oddly comforting.
05/06/08
Heist movies seem pretty quaint and analog in our era where high stakes crime is primarily electronic in nature. But until someone can make embezzlement cinematically interesting, we’re left with theft and this movie just gets away with it.
12/06/05
Gray does a solid enough job behind the camera, although it's clear he feels more at home directing the action sequences than the quieter moments.
03/05/05
Surprisingly gratifying ... In a summer full of computer-generated, nu-metal-accompanied kicks to the midsection, this may be the closest you'll get to drawing room grace.
01/21/05
Cette production estivale est divertissante l’espace d’un instant si l’on ne cherche pas à en trouver les moindres défauts.
12/16/04
This is escapist fare that doesn’t pretend to be Shakespeare. For what it purports to be, I found it entertaining.
10/07/04
This unglamorous approach has the odd effect of making them seem more glamorous -- we’re free to soak up their star quality because there’s no hard sell to fight off.
08/07/04
A light caper movie, with heavy emphasis on the word 'light' -- light plot, light action, light violence, light sex, light humor, light acting.
03/02/04
... workmanlike heist flick with some funny lines and some good (if brief) chases ...
10/28/03
Related Forums
THE ITALIAN JOB (2003) has 1 real surprise - Charlize Theron keeps her clothes on??
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/27/04
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/27/04
THE ITALIAN JOB (2003) has 1 real surprise - Charlize Theron keeps her clothes on??
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/27/04
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/27/04
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