Movie Review: Dead Man Down (2013)

Victor (Colin Farrell) is Alphonse’s (Terence Howard) trusted partner in crime. When Alphonse begins receiving threatening messages, a quest to uncover the identity of the perpetrator ensues. Meanwhile Beatrice (Noomi Rapace), Victor’s mysterious neighbor, is keen to be involved in his troubled life.

DeadMan Down is Danish director Niels Arden Oplev’s first attempt to direct an English language movie. Oplev rose to prominence in 2009 when he directed the feature length adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s inherently dark and disturbing novel The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo.

The Dane is also well applauded for launching the fledgling career of Swedish actress Noomi Rapace. She has gone on to star in blockbusters such as Prometheus and Sherlock Holmes.

DeadMan Down is a brooding thriller based on redemption and revenge with heartfelt emotion at its core. Noomi Rapace and Colin Farrell have undeniable chemistry in what unfolds as a stringent double-edged relationship. A destructive yet immensely necessary bond, one which allows for mutual understanding of the inner turmoil they are burdened with. Their back stories pack emotional punch which is powerful enough to overcome.

Also, the casting of Terence Howard as crime boss is astute as he is an intimidating presence who commands attention in confrontational encounters with Farrell. Look out for the expertly shot scene in the darkened room as a prime example. The movie may have a few low key scenes, but wait until you reach the blistering climax.

We are all thankful that Oplev has not crafted a run of the mill, archetypal revenge heist thriller. Instead Dead Man Down transpires as a multi-layered drama. Farrell plays the central role with verve and in a tragic key that pushes his performance up high. Critically, there is no hero to side with in the film. We are left to analyze on our own. Do we have a right to seek revenge? Would an eye for an eye result in immorality? Themes of bullying and the aftermath of disfigurement form central tenets of critical analysis as well.

There is no question that Oplev truly knows how to get the best out of his films.

Movie Review: The Call (2013)

"911, what is your emergency?" Probably the most familiar phrase in America pertaining to emergencies. Is it even possible to make a movie from a 911 call? Director Brad Anderson together with Halle Berry thinks so. The Call has proven that a movie about an emergency call can be a successful thriller.

 It is just another day at the 911 "hive" call center. All the 911 operators are at their stations and busy working. Jordon Turner (Halle Berry) is following her everyday routine when a call comes in from a young girl named Leah Templeton (Evie Thompson). Leah says that someone is breaking into her house. Jordon give her instructions on what to do until the police arrive. Everything is going fine until the call disconnects, and Jordon makes the mistake of calling Leah back. The ringing of the phone leads the killer to Leah's location and is later found murdered. Jordon is devastated.

 After the incident, Jordon can't handle taking 911 calls anymore. She then becomes a 911 trainer for new recruits. During one of Jordon's training sessions, a call comes in from Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin) who states that she has been abducted from a local mall and is in the trunk of a car. The first operator doesn't know how to handle the situation, so Jordon takes the call. It is later discovered that Casey's abductor, Michael Foster (Michael Eklund), is the same person who kidnapped and murdered Leah Templeton. After the identity of the abductor is discovered, it becomes a race against time to rescue Casey.

 If there is one word to describe The Call, it would be gripping. The Call is surprisingly exciting. It is an adrenaline rush from start to finish.

 Each performer in The Call delivers believable and heart wrenching roles and executions. This is Halle Berry at her best. She successfully draws the audience inside the world of real 911 operators. Abigail Breslin is also moving as the frightened teen, and Michael Eklund is terrifyingly brilliant as a psychopath. Even the supporting performers give outstanding presentations.

 The Call is unforgettable. For a film with scenes that would be too disturbing for a young audience, on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 the lowest, 5 the highest), this film at least rates a 4. This should not be surprising considering that Brad Anderson has directed the likes of Vanishing on 7^th Street, most of the episodes on the TV sci-fi thriller, Fringe, and a few episodes from Boardwalk Empire, Alcatraz, and Person of Interest.

Movie Review: The Expendables 2 (2012)

Action heroes led by Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger have stormed to the top of the North American box office chart with The Expendables 2.

The film took $28.8m in its first weekend. It knocked The Bourne Legacy into second place after the latter’s good first weekend run.

The Expendables 2 brings back essentially the same cast, with a few additions, and features approximately the same quota of explosions and butt-kicking as its predecessor did, give or take more flame-throwing, skull-bashing, explosions, butt-kicking and, oh well, more dead bad guys.

Sylvester Stallone returns as mercenary Barney Ross, who leads a band of muscle-bound merry men. Barney is usually found in the company of his sardonic sidekick Lee Christmas (Jason Statham). Statham is his usual coolness intact acting even when emerging from very violent situations.

Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture), Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), and Jet Li – one of the most appealing characters in the first movie – all appear in the film in their own time. Then, there’s a fresh new Asian face named Maggie (Yu Nan), who seems to exist solely to make moo-moo eyes at rugged he-man Ross, who's having none of that girly stuff. There's also a greenhorn named Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth).

Most of the action takes place in Bulgaria, where Ross and Co. have been dispatched by shadowy CIA go-between Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) to prevent a heap of weapons-grade plutonium from falling into the wrong hands. This requires crash-landing a plane, blowing assorted evildoers to kingdom come, and making the acquaintance of a village full of women whose menfolk have been enslaved and put to work in a plutonium mine.

 Director Simon West (The Mechanic, Con Air) guides the plot as well as the body count. Many may be quick to say that the plot and storyline of Expendables and Expendables 2 is too simple; show us an action film that needs deep thinking because people are coming to watch the action.

 The bodies really do pile up though. TheExpendables 2 is reasonably a boom-boom, rat-tat-tat, wham, wham comic book, which it seems to be. Honestly, people don’t buy comics for the story or even the plot. There’s more wit and jokes though, compared to its predecessor. Sometimes even the dialogue sounds comic-like: "Better duck!" "Oh, [expletive]!" "I got this!" "Fire!" "Yeah!" "Whoa!"

 If you can watch the film to the end without loving Jean-Claude Van Damme’s villainous role, there is something wrong with your sense of action movies.

Masterful Cast Round off the Batman’s Trilogy Series in The Dark Knight Rises

Anyone following the Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale will agree that director and filmmaker Chris Nolan has offered up a masterful ending to the caped hero.

Unlike other trilogies – or more than that sometimes – the Batman trilogy that began with Batman Begins, followed by The Dark Knight, just kept getting better and better.

In TheDark Knight Rises, it is eight years after his last battle as Batman, and the eccentric billionaire Bruce Wayne is a broken man. He lost the love of his life and has unjustly become Gotham City's pariah. His butler, Alfred, is his only friend. Eventually, he is about to lose his billions as well.

 However, a terror attack on the city brings the caped warrior back in action.

 Tom Hardy plays the new villain, Bane. He rallies criminals against Gotham City. This is the first time Batman has come across anybody who is physically superior. The Bane character presented a different perspective because Batman might not survive the conflict with this person.

 The cast is as impressive as his larger than life story. Anne Hathaway plays Catwoman, Batman’s lithe and limber adversary, and eventual new love interest.

 And this is one of the success stories of Nolan’s trilogy. Christian Bale as Batman doesn’t monopolize the cast. All his adversaries nearly steal the show with their superb acting. Liam Neeson in Batman Begins is simply your classic nemesis. Or who can forget the late Heath Ledger’s role as Joker in The Dark Knight alongside Aaron Eckhart’s role as Two-face?

 Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway continue the line of masterpiece acting that all Batman adversaries have displayed under Nolan’s directorial tutelage.

 Not to mention the fact that Christian Bale isn’t exactly surrounded by wimpy supporting cast either. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine continue to churn out masterful acting.  

Nolan's cinematography and gritty atmospherics tap into fears of terrorism and economic meltdown. His scenario is post-apocalyptic. Its impact is enhanced by the gargantuan sets, including a plane that breaks apart thousands of feet in the air.

 To be sure, Nolan's Batman films have helped boost the comic book industry. Many now know that the villain Bane was in a Batman comic book, “Knightfall,” around 15 years ago. Nolan also took note that Batman comics were getting darker, so, he did the same with the films. 

  Unlike other super heroes’ alter egos who led a successful double life, Bruce Wayne led a very dark and sad life, with a past he could not move on. This is something most people could always relate to.

Movie Review: Taken (2009)

If you’re a sore realist, then Taken is not your movie. You’ll start wondering why CIA agents are not as good as Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who becomes a one-man rescue squad to save his daughter who goes on a stupid vacation fraught with an open invitation to “kidnap my friend and I, we’re only females.”

 If you’re the type out for action and drama, then Taken is truly for you. You’ll enjoy the endless rescue skills, laser-eyed sharpshooting, pursuit driving, pocket-picking, impersonations, knife-fighting, tortures, and karate fighting, not to mention the ultimate killing machine that Liam Neeson turns out to be.

Bryan Mills is in retirement in Los Angeles and has more time to spend with his 17-year-old daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), who now lives with his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) and her millionaire husband (Xander Berkeley). He warns Kim not to go to Paris with a female friend because it’s dangerous for an all-female duo. The warning proves correct when Kim and friend are kidnapped by a notorious Albanian kidnap ring.

Now comes the exciting part. Mills has 96 hours to rescue Kim and her friend before they are drugged and sold as prostitutes. The virgins are auctioned off to Arab sheiks who, after having sex for several days, will have the girls killed.

 So with this in mind, is there any father – trained in the arts of CIA spycraft – who wouldn’t suddenly turn into a “Bourne” type of killer and leave behind a trail of dead or maimed Albanian bad guys to save their kid?

In spite of the critic the film received, Taken proves one thing. Liam Neeson, together with director Pierre Morel, and script writer/producer Luc Besson can bring realism and credibility to any role or any film just by playing or assembling the film very well. Just take a look at Besson’s past film record (The Fifth Element, Taxi, The Transporter) and you will see why Liam is truly cut out for Mill’s role.

Perhaps one day, Liam can be cast in one of the “Bourne” Whatever series. In the meantime, download Taken for your action viewing pleasure.  

Movie Review (Fantasy / Action): The Avengers (2012)

The Avengers, the careful (and yes, very careful) culmination of years of planning, multiple blockbusters, hundreds of millions of dollars and loads of patience is finally here, and it does not disappoint. The best comic book adaptation since The Dark Knight in 2008 and arguably the best Marvel Studios movie ever, The Avengers is exciting, funny, visually stimulating and thoroughly entertaining, the very definition of a good summer blockbuster.

Unfortunately, it’s not a good movie blockbuster. It’s actually a great one.

Directed by Joss Whedon, this is the man behind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Firefly" and most recently, the critically praised The Cabin in the Woods, who was able to take the best elements from what can best be described as Avengers prequels from Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America and developed a rip roaring production that fires up all cylinders from every corner.

Time and money was of the essence. While the films mentioned above were all hits and money makers, some doubted if Whedon could pull off a film that brought together a meshing of reality like Iron Man with supernatural worlds like Thor. 

Doubts were further cast because even the Hulk which was cast and then recast by, first, Eric Bana, and then later by Edward Norton was then re-casted in the Avengers by Mark Ruffalo, who was never a superhero in any film. Jeremy Rener and Scarlett Johansson were already convincing in the past as action figures, so could Ruffalo pull of being Bruce Banner?

As everyone knows by now, he did more than convincingly. Some say he was more of the center of attraction. Puny humans to ever doubt his talents!

He isn't a character that works well on his own, but, set against something bigger, like a team of sorts, the Hulk finally is in the right place. Not only does Mark Ruffalo turn in a great performance as Bruce Banner, but the Hulk shines in the epic climax, overshadowing the rest of the characters.

Amazingly, Whedon found that perfect balance. While Robert Downey Jr., who by far is the biggest actor in the group, definitely plays a central role, Tony Stark is only a cog in the wheel. Each character has a role to play and, impressively, his own arc, which makes him (or her) more interesting. 

The movie has just the right amount of character development, and the character-driven scenes work seamlessly with the creative action sequences that Whedon throws at the audience. Each action sequence is bigger than the last, and increasingly complex and engaging. And if this isn’t enough, the character of Nick Fury should blow your mind.

This is a great blockbuster that you shouldn’t miss to download.

Romeo and Juliet, Directed by Baz Luhrmann, Combines Grand Opera with Bollywood

College students everywhere in the western world (include the Philippines for this) cringe at the thought of reading Shakespeare. Any Shakespeare. It doesn’t matter if it’s the greatest love story ever told: Romeo and Juliet.

 Students (and even some teachers) breathed a sigh of relief in 1996 when a film version of the novel was released, starred in by no less than Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, supported by other great Hollywood cast.

They modernized the movie so that viewers, especially young people can appreciate more the artistry of Shakespeare’s movies through the movie. Some of the casts’ role and costumes were exaggerated so that the movie will never go boring. To add color, there were funny scenes, a song and dance number (shades of future Bollywood), and even some action scenes. The dialogue was always short since it’s pretty obvious they couldn’t use the whole script from Shakespeare. The manner in which the old English script was suited to each scene is quite commendable (hearing late television news speaking in old English has to be seen.)

There were some critics who complained that DiCaprio and Danes did not suit the roles of two 14 year olds (if you haven’t read Romeo and Juliet, yes, that’s how old they were). However, director Baz Luhrmann didn’t get the pair for their age. He needed a pair who could act. Naturally, Luhrmann had to skip some scenes from the real script, unless he was willing to make a 4 hour film spewing Shakespearean lingo.

Baz Luhrmann is no stranger to Hollywood pedigree. Though Romeo and Juliet was his first big attempt, he would go on to direct Moulin Rouge, Australia, and most recently, The Great Gatsby. In Romeoand Juliet, Luhrmann wanted a film that combined Italian grand opera, realistic storied action, Bollywood style presentations, and ballroom drama.

If this is your type of movie, short of a musical, download Romeo and Juliet now.

Classic Movie Review (Drama): Gangs of New York (2002)

Gangsof New York is a 2002 historically accurate film (for once) set in the mid-19^th century at the Five Points district of New York City. It generally tells about the racial conflicts between the Irish and other European immigrants versus the poor Americans all living in this poverty and squalor ridden district, including the discrimination against Black African-Americans.

The film is directed by no other than Martin Scorsese. It stars an all-star gathering of Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, and John C. Reily.  

Gangsof New York is considered one of the most ambitious films of the first decade. Even if compared to films produced after 2011, it still holds its ground in production design, cinematography, and story structure, being one of the most ambitious for such a historical production. 

The main structural element that sets this movie apart from others is context. Gangs of New York has a massive amount of context. It depicts and compresses all of American history of the 19th century in one film. It does so by setting up a number of powerful dramatic oppositions: American-born vs. immigrants, the powerful vs. the weak, rich vs. poor, Catholic vs. Protestant, tribes and sectionalism vs. government and the rule of law.

So what story is inserted by the writers in all this American history? A young man wanting to take revenge on the man who killed his father in a street brawl when he was still eight. No, this is not the stuff of historical romance like in Titanic or Pearl Harbor. It’s not the stuff of Shakespeare either.

It is a film that supposedly captures a period in American history wherein progressive and fascinating developments were happening so fast in a growing young nation, yet the history books still gloss over events such as these in Five Points in New York.

The revenge factor is actually what holds the story together while events, very historical, are happening around them. The arrival of the Irish immigrants fleeing from the harvest famines abroad, the entry of the US civil war, and the climax at the end using the New York race riots of 1863 are all accurately portrayed amidst the continuing street brawls and skirmishes among rival gangs.

Thematically, the film proves quite interesting as it shifts from one social stage to another, from the era of New York ruled by gangs and government corruption to an era of New York ruled by a nation of laws. There is much about Gangs of New York that is worthwhile, even awe-inspiring.

If you haven’t yet seen Gangs of New York, download it now for free.

Director Ridley Scott and "Prometheus" is Not Out To Scare You Again

In 1979, the film "Alien" defined the science fiction horror genre. For the first time moviegoers watched a horrific monster hatching from humans and killing the rest one at a time. For the first time, moviegoers were treated to a horror film in space, not in a creepy lonely house. 

The success of a previous science fiction film in 1977, Star Wars, epitomized "good versus evil" on a galactic scale. Audiences, though, were drawn to Alien because, rather than watching battles for the balance of galactic power, the crew of the Nostromo battled the Alien Xenomorph for the balance of survival. Alien was more realistic that people could relate to. 

Aliensoon spawned a franchise with three more sequels, the Predator vs. Aliens movies, and hatching more Xenomorphs.

Now, Director Ridley Scott returns to the genre with the prequel "Prometheus." Despite the similarities between the Alien films and Prometheus, Scott deviates from the original.

With Alien, Ridley Scott also launched the iconic character of Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver.

Ripley was the first female character to tackle a monster on the large screen. The role continued in the 80's and 90's. Alien and its sequels were so groundbreaking that, from then on, women in film no longer cowered before physically superior adversaries.

In Prometheus, the main character is a female again, Elizabeth Shaw, played by Noomi Rapace. In the film, she becomes a survivor, trooper, and warrior out of necessity. Typical Ripley changeover.

In the film, Elizabeth Shaw is an archeologist. During excavations, she finds evidence that humans have been genetically engineered by extraterrestrials. Her findings inspire a mission in search of humanity's creators. They land on the planet where the first Alien film took place.

However, in Prometheus, Ridley Scott does not follow the same pattern as in the previous Alien films. This film stands on its own since it questions the theory of evolution.

However, the film has not been greeted as enthusiastically as was expected, in spite of its great story and special effects.

If you want to watch Prometheus but missed it in theaters, you can download it free. 

Television Series Review: The Mentalist

 TheMentalist is a television police procedural and crime-drama series with a unique premise and lots of violence. But, then again, what TV crime-drama series today doesn’t have its share of violence. At least The Mentalist has less gory violence than, say, CSI or The Following.

 TheMentalist focuses on Patrick Jane, played by Simon Baker, as a self-proclaimed medium turned crime consultant helping a team of agents from a fictitious police unit, the California Bureau of Investigation to solve crimes. Baker is an Australian actor and director who also starred in the TV drama series, The Guardian. He also starred in several films including The Devil Wears Prada and Red Planet.

What makes Patrick Jane unique in The Mentalist is his keen observation skills of people’s physical reactions, body language, and strong understanding of human behavior. The TV crime show also stars Robin Tunney as Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon, with agents Kimball Cho (Tim Kang), Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman), and Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti). Patrick has a tendency on the show to find evidence using his charms and theatrical abilities to help solve high profile cases. His unorthodox and self-absorbed manner however, often borders on reckless disregard that almost gets him killed in some episodes.

TheMentalist has its share of scenes of bloody violence, shooting, being bludgeoned to death, serial killers, violent behavior, and plenty of strong language, strong sexual discussion, and some liquor drinking. But, then again, this is a crime show series, so don’t expect anything less.

Like normal crime dramas, The Mentalist spends time discussing crime case details. Many don’t consider it the best written show, with often flat dialogue, but the show’s unique premise comes from the interesting cases and Jane’s trademark humor punctuated with intelligent dialogue about human behavior. The show admittedly can be quite violent with generally mature content, certainly not a show for younger viewers below 15 years of age.

Download all four seasons now, from season one, which started in September 2008, up to season four, which started in September 2011. Season five is ongoing that began in September 2012 and will end on May 5, 2013.

Classic Movie Review: Full Metal Jacket (1987; Remastered 2007)

The late 70’s up to the late 80’s saw an influx of Vietnam War films: The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Hamburger Hill, Platoon Leader, and whole company of others. While all of these are classic war films in their own right, FullMetal Jacket comes out somewhat different from the rest.

Coming out in 1987 and being remastered in 2007, the movie is about part of the lives of a group of Marines in a part of the Vietnam War in the late 60’s. Unlike other Vietnam era films shot on location, Full Metal Jacket was shot primarily on stages and outdoor sets in England. What makes the film stand out from the rest is that it starts out with the Marines in training at boot camp, showing the whole brutality of Marine training at its finest. The grunts then graduate and see the reality and horrors of Vietnam.

The film is directed by Stanley Kubrick, who makes every single character deliver into the maximum, no matter how big or small the role is.

Matthew Modine (Memphis Belle, 1990, and Dep. Comm. Peter Foley, The Dark Knight Rises) is Private Joker, a Marine torn between serving his country and wanting to write the truth. Adam Baldwin (John Casey, Chuck) is Animal Mother, a grunt who just wants to kill the enemy. Vincent D’Onofrio (Det. Robert Goren, Law & Order: Criminal Intent), gives a superb role as Gomer Pyle, a somewhat semi-retarded misfit. R. Lee Ermey (police captain, Se7en), probably gives the best role as Sgt. Hartman, the gunnery sergeant who badmouths the grunts from day one.

Some of the best scenes in the film are from Ermey. In the great tradition of drill instructors, he gives great brio and amazing creative obscenity that are now known classic scenes, and earned Ermey a place in the top 100 of all-time movie quotes. The encounter in the head between Pyle and Sgt. Hartman had audiences feeling sad when they had to bid goodbye to both characters.

Kubrick’s aim in the film is not to deliver a straight story like other Vietnam War films, but, to show individual characters and how they reacted to their surroundings. While Kubrick loves to use clichés in the war scenes, such as pinned down Marines, you tend to see the masterpiece of the film by its showing just how an aimless war can be as brutal as one with a real purpose.

Traitor (2008)

Traitor is classified as a spy/terrorist plot and thriller film released in 2008 and directed by Jeff Nachmanoff. The film stars Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, and Jeff Daniels.

Though the film did fairly well in the box office, it did not do well with film critics, something that this writer completely disagrees with.

Jeff Nachmanoff, to his credit, is the writer of The Day After Tomorrow and an upcoming Schwarzenegger action film for 2013, The Last Stand. However, as the critics wrongly mentioned (most film critics don’t even bother to research), Traitor is not Nachmanoff’s directorial debut. He directed The Big Gig and Hollywood Palms before Traitor. After this, he directed four episodes of Homeland.

So, when watching Don Cheadle as Samir Horn on Traitor, expect no less than a fast-paced story with matching action to boot. And the story is not that far-fetched, unlike most post 9/11 Hollywood flicks that smack of nonsensical anti-CIA and government conspiracies. While viewers are trying to figure out whether Sudanese-born Samir is a patriotic American or a devout Muslim with terrorist ties, others like Guy Pierce (FBI agent Roy Clayton), Neil McDonough (FBI agent Max Archer), Said Taghmaoui (Omar), and Jeff Daniels (CIA agent Carter) give really superb acting support to a film that neither sounds anti-Islam nor anti-American.

Another mistake most film critics did was to compare Traitor with The Kingdom and a couple of Jason Bourne films. What’s wrong with this analysis is that the former film is based on a true story about a terrorist bombing in Saudi Arabia, while Jason Bourne is a cold war action flick trilogy, period.

Critics never gave proper attention to the true focus of Traitor’s story, that the threat of terrorists around us is real, and that governments around the world cannot do enough to arrest this threat. The story is unassuming and tightly focused. It covers enough of both sides as well as every possible ideological objection without sounding anti anything.

For every action film enthusiast, Traitor is a must-see film. Download while the seeds are still hot. Perhaps in the end you can figure out Cheadle’s superb character.

The Bank Job (2008)

TheBank Job is a UK film released in 2008 and directed by Roger Donaldson. It stars Richard Lintern, David Suchet, Stephen Campbell Moore, and Saffron Burrows, with the main protagonist superbly portrayed by Jason Statham.

Roger Donaldson is an Australian-New Zealand director already known for his UK based films such as The Bounty (Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson) and Smash Palace (Bruno Lawrence). His share of Hollywood notables include The Recruit (Colin Farrell), Dante’s Peak (Pierce Brosnan), and Cocktail (Tom Cruise).

Thus, with this caliber of directorship, it’s no surprise that Bank Job would turn out to be a terrific run-for-your-money bank heist and political conspiracy movie with enough action to keep you at the edge of your desktop. The movie is actually a speculative account of a bank robbery at a Lloyd’s Bank branch on London’s Baker Street back in 1971. Amazingly, not a single bank robber was ever brought to justice, in spite of much overwhelming evidence.

The actual bank heist and the background behind it would seem like something out of a Sherlock Holmes mystery combined with America’s Watergate. However, unlike Watergate, the British government took all pains to squash everything to silence instead of going for justice.

Jason Statham and his men have been conned by an underworld-connected model (Saffron Burrows) – herself being conned by British secret service – to commit an underground tunneling bank heist. The objective is a safety-deposit box containing revealing pictures of a British princess having sex with a pair of black studs in the Caribbean. The pictures are being kept by a notorious black underworld figure for eventual blackmail purposes.

Unfortunately, the successful bank heist turns out more trouble than just the photos, money, and jewelry. Burrows and Statham discover that they also have in their possession an account book owned by a London vice criminal (David Suchet) containing records of bribes to police and politicians. Also in the mix are compromising pictures of civil servants and politicians owned by a known brothel owner.

Thus, the somewhat hapless crooks find themselves pursued – not by the police – but by MI5, British secret service, criminal gangsters, and other hired bogeys, including members of the Royal Family.  From here, the film races with the speed of a rush hour train, with the action sometimes lolling between exciting and bloody. Would you expect any less from a Jason Statham film?

 The Bank Job is a must-see film for enthusiasts of classic movies and action films.