BEFORE: I'm deep into the heist chain now - this one's become pretty well regarded as the ultimate heist film, so I'd better watch it before I learn any more about the plot than I already do. A quick stop in Italy, then I'm headed back to the States. Linking tonight comes from the film "The Road", which starred both Guy Pearce from "The Hard Word" and Charlize Theron (last seen in "The Cider House Rules"). "The Road" is on my list, I just haven't gotten to it yet.
THE PLOT: After being betrayed and left for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker and his team plan an elaborate gold heist against their former ally.
AFTER: That's three heists (at least) in three days - and of course a pattern has emerged. First you need a team of different experts, but at some point the team members are going to turn on each other, and fight over the money. Geez, I see it coming now - why don't they? I suppose it's human nature, but if so, why aren't the other humans ready for it?
Also, like the previous two films, we've got another case here where there are bad guys and badder guys. Again, it's evil by degrees. Here the not-so-bad bad guys are more charming, and the badder bad guy is a big jerk - is that enough to separate them? Or is it the fact that the not-so-bad bad guys are at least loyal to each other, plus more clever, and willing and able to work as a team, does that make them more noble somehow? I mean, it's still about the money, right? You know when someone says "It's not about the money" that means it's about the money.
I think what really sets this one apart is the elaborate nature of the heists. Stuff that's probably not possible in the real world, but plays very well in a film, and looks great to boot. The combination of technology, explosives and just sheer craftiness helps this team pull off the impossible. The fact that they seem to have an infinite amount of time to plan, plus unlimited financial resources (apparently) when it comes to computers and explosives. Which kind of makes me wonder why they need to boost safes anyway - if they didn't spend so much money on equipment, maybe they wouldn't need to steal gold bullion!
It also makes me wonder what these people could accomplish to make an honest living, if they were so inclined to turn their talents away from thievery. Look, the safecracker probably made a good living helping the police and court system break into safes to get subpoenaed documents. The rest of them could have worked in the security field, or computers, or disabling explosives rather than setting them.
But I suppose these are minor quibbles. For whatever reasons, these men have settled upon a life of crime, and I'm supposed to root for them to succeed, because they're the best option presented to me. Revenge is a powerful motivator as well, but the senior member of the group did advise them to get out of the game and settle down, before it became too late to do so.
I do think a case can be made for this as the "ultimate" heist film - the action sequences are very exciting (though, again, quite improbable) and the twists are good and unexpected. Even if it's not the most original, it somehow felt very original, and isn't that what's important?
A few NITPICK POINTS but nothing I can discuss without divulging plot details. Suffice it to say, I saw some of the same problems as "Live Free or Die Hard", where a guy with a computer is able to "hack" just about anything with a laptop.
Also starring Mark Wahlberg (last seen in "The Lovely Bones"), Donald Sutherland (last seen in "Kelly's Heroes"), Jason Statham (last seen in "The Bank Job", nice...), Edward Norton (last seen in "The Illusionist"), Seth Green (last seen in "America's Sweethearts"), Mos Def (last seen in "Cadillac Records"), with cameos from Scott Adsit, Oscar Nunez.
RATING: 7 out of 10 traffic lights
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