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The Bank Job

The Bank Job (2008)

tomatometer

79

Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 142
Fresh: 112 | Rotten: 30

Well cast and crisply directed, The Bank Job is a thoroughly entertaining British heist thriller.

91

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 3

Well cast and crisply directed, The Bank Job is a thoroughly entertaining British heist thriller.

audience

74

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 232,851

My Rating

Movie Info

Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows star in director Roger Donaldson's cinematic account of the true-life 1971 London bank robbery that baffled the authorities and fascinated the public. Terry Leather (Statham) was a small-time car dealer who was trying to leave his shady past behind and start a family. Though he'd never been involved in any major crimes, he wasn't exactly on the straight and narrow his whole life either. Martine Love (Burrows) is a beautiful model from Terry's old neighborhood

R, 1 hr. 51 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Drama

Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais

Jul 15, 2008

$30.0M

Lionsgate

All Critics (142) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (119) | Rotten (30) | DVD (12)

It's something new for heist pictures: a movie that can't even rip off its predecessor with any panache.

March 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Boston Globe | Comment
Boston Globe
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Bank Job is nothing more than an efficient time-killer with the added bonus of being based on a real misadventure. But, unlike its benighted cast of characters, it gets the job done without a hitch.

March 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | Comment
Christian Science Monitor
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A tight, classic-feeling film about losers banding together for one big score, then scrambling furiously as they realize they're in over their heads. It's fast, nifty, sharp and sweet.

March 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comment
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Thanks to the twin pens of screenwriters Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, what a jam-packed and misanthropic fiction this is.

March 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Longtime screenwriters Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais have woven a masterful narrative full of odd twists and dark humor from which Australian director Roger Donaldson and a prime cast mine plum characters and a tight plot to satisfying effect.

March 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment (1)
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

With its cockneys and coppers and the caper that comes a cropper, the movie is fully engaging on several levels.

March 7, 2008 Full Review Source: New York Post | Comment
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Bank Job is an often suspenseful and sleek crime movie which shows how a group of working class slumps exposed the scandalous nature of the rich, as both spooks and crims bay for their blood.

January 5, 2012 Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | Comment
Matt's Movie Reviews

As some characters brazenly assert colonial imperatives, race and class commentary abound and "The Bank Job" eventually takes a vividly violent turn. But its subtext of history's long con doesn't keep the film from hitting great-heist high points.

September 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com | Comment
Suite101.com

The Bank Job happily stole my attention

August 3, 2009 Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | Comment
3BlackChicks Review

The Bank Job is not just another slick caper film. It's robust, messy, cluttered, and a cut well above the average crime job.

February 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Fayetteville Free Weekly | Comment
Fayetteville Free Weekly

Es como una película de Guy Ritchie pero sin toda esa parafernalia y sobre estetización que son su marca de fábrica.

January 21, 2009 Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | Comment
Uruguay Total

harientizomeno me amfisbitisimo goysto kai prospoiiti aythadeia me ta anomaliarika goysta tis agglikis afrokremas tis epohis, adynatei na dosei megethos sto terastion diastaseon politiko skandalo poy aggizei (oysiastika megethoys Watergate gia tin basilik

September 16, 2008 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | Comment
Movies for the Masses

It isn't bad, but it can't find a rhythm between being based on a true, ugly story and trying to be a fun bank heist film.

August 27, 2008 Full Review Source: The Scorecard Review | Comment
The Scorecard Review

Despite the name of the movie, this is not the typical mindless action b-movie that Jason Statham specializes in. It is much more an exploration of British corruption, sexual and otherwise, at the highest levels of 1960s British society. Not a great movie

August 23, 2008 Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | Comment
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Jason Statham sports enough stubble to scrape the metal off a gun. Not that he'd want to do so in this slight, silly heist movie, which turns out to be plenty of fun.

August 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | Comment
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

This is ultimately great entertainment in the tradition of classic heist films.

August 6, 2008 Full Review Source: DVD Review | Comment
DVD Review

... by turns funny and suspenseful, and just a tad trashy in its speculations.

August 6, 2008 Full Review Source: DVD Review | Comment
DVD Review

Blazing with the ring of truth, The Bank Job is a tense and involving caper movie with more than the usual layers: a genuine Royal scandal.

July 25, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment (1)
Urban Cinefile

The best thing about this caper whose elements include a royal scandal, exotic locations, MI5 involvement, a brothel with a clientele from high places, corrupt cops, romance and a heist by a bunch of small-time crooks, is that it is based on fact.

July 25, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile

Caper movie mixes clichés, brutal violence.

July 24, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Bank Job

A fairly simple, yet entertaining heist thriller. Although devoid of a consitent tone and pacing that's slightly uneven, The Bank Job is a highly likable and sometimes hilarious movie. It's greatest trait is the brilliant casting and the crisp direction by Roger Donaldson. It's a thoroughly entertaining crime flick

May 7, 2012
Directors Cat
Directors Cat

Super Reviewer

Roger Donaldson decides to go thriller with The Bank Job.Sporting nearly 110 minutes of screen time, The Bank Job is a bit long for its own good. Of course, that doesn't make it a waste of time; however, an elaborate heist flick this is not. In fact, the heist itself is a bit on the discouraging side when compared to

November 5, 2009
skactopus
Justin Y

Super Reviewer

    1. Lew Vogel: I have a very jaundice view of life, from what I see most of it is corrupt, venile, and vile.
    – Submitted by Joe W (4 months ago)
    1. Lew Vogel: I think drugs are responsible for the moral decay of this country's young. Smut, smut, and more smut - that's my special area of interest.
    – Submitted by Chris P (13 months ago)
    1. Dave Shilling: Be lucky!
    – Submitted by Chris P (13 months ago)

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