there is nothing like a mini. finally brought to the states, you can’t pass one on the street without nudging the person next to you and saying, “hey, look, it’s a mini!” they’re just so darn cool. small and zippy, undeniably european, and the absolute opposite of the lumbering SUV. oh yeah, i’m a fan.
but i guess i should talk about the movie… okay. here goes.
the italian job. i had my reservations going into this, mostly from the published stories about edward norton’s resentment of the contract that kept him in this project. but nothing improves a stressful tax day like a free movie screening, and this one made for some welcome escapism. the film shown was a work-in-progress print with a standard disclaimer card to excuse the cuts, the look, the music and the sound. and though the house was only half-full, the crowd was quite vocal and the lady to our left was very drunk. seriously. right before the film, she introduced herself to the people behind us as “jen” and as she reeked like a bucket of gin, the name was easy to remember.
the paramount logo was the first recipient of hooting applause, led by the paramount rep two rows back. this was followed by equal hooting for each starring name in the simple word-on-black credits. mark wahlberg (woo!). edward norton (woo!). charlize theron (woo!). and so it went until donald sutherland, who was greeted with an unfair silence. i had to do something… so i let loose a “woo!” of my own. you just can’t leave an elder statesman of modern film unacknowledged.
basically, it goes a little something like this: our band of merry miscreants collaborate on a successful heist in venice, but once have they evaded capture by the police and some local thuggery, one of their own turns traitor and makes off with the take, shooting the group’s safe-cracking father figure in the process and leaving the rest of the crew for dead. fast-forward to one year later and the survivors are living in philadelphia. after enlisting the help of the fallen father-figure’s safe-cracking daughter, they’re off to sunny california to deliver some well-deserved payback on the man who did them all wrong. there. not too many spoilers, right?
the film feels familiar, and that’s a good thing and a bad thing. if you’ve saw the remake of ocean’s 11, then you know how this is going to go. thieves are heroes, always promising to do “one last score” before they quit the business. our heroes are a team of experts in their field, all quirky and personable. you’ve got the geeky guy who lacks social skills but can hack into anything. you’ve got the charming fellow who puts it all together without any visible planning. you’ve even got the cool black guy with a penchant for demolitions. it’s good that mos def doesn’t affect a british accent here, as don cheadle might have a decent plagiarism suit.
but for all of the rehashing, this film is a fun ride that never really takes itself too seriously. some of the dialogue is priceless and everyone is fully aware that any caper film is only as good as its tightwire suspense and its sense of humor. seth green is a standout here, stealing scenery with the wit that’s expected of him. his imitation of jason statham’s character, handsome rob, is brilliant. or rather, perfect. it’s obvious that mos def enjoys his character and the same can be said of statham, practically reprising the wise-acre turkish from snatch. marky mark does okay, though i kept forgetting who he was, momentarily mistaking him for matt damon and remembering that jason bourne drove an old-school mini in the bourne identity. charlize theron does a serviceable job, but i still hold a grudge against her for having anything to do with 2 days in the valley. and while ed norton might’ve hated being there, he does a great job of working the evil bastard angle.
just as in the original, the mini cooper chase scenes are exceptional. what the online bmw films are to the beemer, this is to the mini. you will leave this film wanting one of these little cars. and i can’t help wondering just how much time f. gary gray has spent with his ps2 and grand theft auto 3. a lot of the pacing has that episodic gta3 feel to it, so much so that i almost expected a “mission accomplished” across the screen at the end of the chase.
the temp music did well for the unfinished film, though you’d think they would try to avoid using the theme from run lola run more than once. while the film was grainy in spots and the transitions need work, i enjoyed this film and it should do well this summer. it’s set to release a couple of weeks after the matrix and will profit from the folks who’ve already got their neo fix or from the unfortunates who can’t get into a sold-out matrix but don’t want to waste a trip to the multi-plex.
if i were giving out stars, and i had five to give, i’d give this one three.
