The Italian Job (2003) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  F. Gary Gray

Starring:  Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Jason Statham, Seth Green, Franky G, Mos Def, Donald Sutherland

The Italian Job is a superior example of a slick caper/chase film.    There are even a few ingenious moments which are thrilling.    It is not quite as good as Ocean's Eleven, which also depicts a group of thieves stealing lots of money, but it is definitely in the same league.    Here, the coveted prize is millions of dollars worth of gold bars, but money is money.

These days, most thefts occur online, where someone has to simply hit a few buttons to swindle someone out of their money.    Or, like in the case of Bernie Madoff, a thief can run a pyramid scheme which bilks clients out of millions.    They wouldn't dream of cracking a safe or speeding a Mini-Cooper through LA traffic and down the steps of Union Station.    Why go through all of the intensive labor?

The Italian Job begins with a Venice heist in which a group of thieves steal millions in gold bars only to have one of the group, second in command Steve (Norton), betray them, kill the group leader (Sutherland), and swipe the gold for himself while leaving the others for dead.    The surviving members are Charlie (Wahlberg) the mastermind, Left-Ear (Def), an explosives expert, Handsome Rob (Statham) who drives a mean getaway car and seduces women, and Lyle (Green), the computer whiz who insists he is the true creator of Napster. 

Charlie brings in Sutherland's daughter Stella (Theron), a safecracker with revenge on her mind.   They plan to find Steve and steal the gold back.    This, of course, does not happen without plenty of plot twists and unexpected developments.    F. Gary Gray proved with The Negotiator (1998) that he can make a thriller which crackles with suspense.   The Italian Job is an extremely well-crafted film full of car chases, thefts, double crosses, and a very, very creative way to make a truck full of gold seemingly disappear from the street.    I especially enjoyed that.

The Italian Job isn't heavy, deep, or meaningful.     It is a great way to spend a couple of hours having fun watching a cheerfully preposterous film.    That beats wasting two hours on similar films that go on autopilot and are not in any way made special by the filmmakers or cast.     We have seen films like The Italian Job a hundred times.  What makes it work better is the energy expended to at least try and stand out from the crowd.