英文影评:The Italian Job (2003)
发布时间：2022-08-01 12:31:18
A group of crooks plan to steal a gold shipment from the middle of an LA traffic jam. Action movie remake of the much-loved British film, with Mark Wahlberg in the Mini‘s driving seat
Everyone expected this to be rubbish. After all, Hollywood‘s track record in remakes of Michael Caine classics isn‘t exactly glowing (anyone fancy watching the Sylvester Stallone Get Carter?). But, for once, ‘everyone‘ was wrong - the The Italian Job remake may be different, but in its own way it‘s almost as much fun as the 1969 original.
Let‘s look at the differences first. The original version saw a group of cockernee crims heading off to Turin to nick a gold shipment out from under the noses of the Italian authorities. This one sets its gold robbery in LA, but justifies the title by holding an earlier heist in the middle of Venice (cue a boat chase down the canals to supplement the Mini action later on in the film). There, old master crook John Bridger (Sutherland) comes a cropper when his team - led by Mark Wahlberg‘s Charlie Croker - are betrayed by one of their own, namely Edward Norton‘s shifty Steve. The film then hinges on their search for revenge against him and their plans to steal back the stolen cash that he stole from them. Or something like that. To be honest, there are moments when logic and reason take a holiday here. If Steve can transport the gold halfway around the world with no apparent problems why is he now selling it off a bar at a time to an LA pawnbroker, for instance? But it doesn‘t really matter. The movie‘s real strength is in its action sequences and its characters.
When it comes, the Mini chase is everything you‘d expect it to be, with the recently relaunched, restyled cars hurtling along Hollywood Boulevard, rattling down steps and playing chicken with trains on the LA Metro. Throw in the aforementioned hijinks on the Venice canals and a few sweaty-palmed robbery moments and you‘ve got more than enough excitement to keep the adrenalin flowing.
The gang of crooks is smaller than that of Caine‘s Croker but much more neatly defined, in an Ocean‘s Eleven style. Wahlberg is solid rather than inspired as Charlie, but Statham, Def and Green make up for that nicely, ad-libbing and joking their way through events with wit and charm. Oh, and don‘t think Theron is there just to provide eye-candy either - her Stella Bridges carries her fair share of the gags and more than her fair share of the driving.
Let‘s look at the differences first. The original version saw a group of cockernee crims heading off to Turin to nick a gold shipment out from under the noses of the Italian authorities. This one sets its gold robbery in LA, but justifies the title by holding an earlier heist in the middle of Venice (cue a boat chase down the canals to supplement the Mini action later on in the film). There, old master crook John Bridger (Sutherland) comes a cropper when his team - led by Mark Wahlberg‘s Charlie Croker - are betrayed by one of their own, namely Edward Norton‘s shifty Steve. The film then hinges on their search for revenge against him and their plans to steal back the stolen cash that he stole from them. Or something like that. To be honest, there are moments when logic and reason take a holiday here. If Steve can transport the gold halfway around the world with no apparent problems why is he now selling it off a bar at a time to an LA pawnbroker, for instance? But it doesn‘t really matter. The movie‘s real strength is in its action sequences and its characters.
When it comes, the Mini chase is everything you‘d expect it to be, with the recently relaunched, restyled cars hurtling along Hollywood Boulevard, rattling down steps and playing chicken with trains on the LA Metro. Throw in the aforementioned hijinks on the Venice canals and a few sweaty-palmed robbery moments and you‘ve got more than enough excitement to keep the adrenalin flowing.
The gang of crooks is smaller than that of Caine‘s Croker but much more neatly defined, in an Ocean‘s Eleven style. Wahlberg is solid rather than inspired as Charlie, but Statham, Def and Green make up for that nicely, ad-libbing and joking their way through events with wit and charm. Oh, and don‘t think Theron is there just to provide eye-candy either - her Stella Bridges carries her fair share of the gags and more than her fair share of the driving.