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The Italian Job tries desperately to reach Ocean’s
Eleven, but never makes it. It’s a major heist
flick that captures much of the tone of Eleven,
but just falls short.
The Italian Job starts with the titular Italian job,
comprising of a group of thieves stealing $35 million in Venice.
They seem to be off Scot free until one of the group, Steve (Edward
Norton), turns on them, kills their leader, John Bridger (Donald
Sutherland), and takes the money. A year later the group gets
back together to steal the money back from Steve. The group has
its specialized thieves, comprising of Lyle (Seth Green), the
computer genius who claims to have invented Napster; Handsome
Rob (Jason Stathom), the getaway driver; Left Ear (Mos Def), the
explosives expert; and Charlie (Mark Wahlberg), the organizer
of it all. New to the group is Stella (Charlize Theron), the daughter
of John Bridger and a usually law-abiding safe-cracker who joins
the mission to get back at her father’s killer.
The rest of the film comprises of making us hate Steve because
he’s a jerk and watching to see how the group finagles the
money back away from him. It’s a fairly fun ride, filled
with espionage, car chases, light romantic tension and a moderate
sprinkling of humor. But if falls short of something like Ocean’s
Eleven, just in terms of class if nothing else.
But there is something else. While Ocean’s
Eleven never took itself seriously, The Italian Job
makes a preposterous attempt to defend itself. The money is stolen
from what appears to be some creeps, which is quickly forgotten
in place of the fact that the money is going to be re-stolen from
a bigger creep. There’s a lot of talk about stealing the
money to exact justice on Steve, but seriously – would they
really be risking so much if millions of dollars weren’t
at stake? Worst of all is John’s ridiculous advice to Charlie,
“Some thieves steal to enrich their lives and some steal
to define it. Don’t be the latter.” Such becomes a
sort of mantra for the film, as if “steal to enrich your
life” were some sort of life-affirming aspiration.
But moral problems aside, The Italian Job still succeeds
on the simple joy ride level. Like a suspension of reality allows
us to enjoy fantasy, a suspension of the ethical will allow us
to enjoy The Italian Job.
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