Absolutely Professional Criminals - Bank Job Review

My friend Jon and I decided to go to a movie recently, and when faced with the crossroads between Horton Hears a Who and The Bank Job, we flipped a coin, and I lost. Jon had to practically drag me into the theatre where we sat down and watched the retelling of a real bank robbing conspiracy that happened overseas back in the 70's. ... We should have seen Horton.

Hahaha, just kidding! We collectively decided on what movie to see, and it was a very enjoyable movie indeed.

The story is about a group of friends, one of which is in an insane amount of debt, that are given the proposal to rob a bank. What bank, when, and how are pretty much all planned out for them, and they would just have to execute it. They agree.

A higher power is secretly behind the bank robbery, and they want to incriminate a man named Michael X, who won't be punished by law as long as a few sexual pictures of a member of the royal family are in his safe deposit box, but they don't want the blood to be on their hands. Many people in the city have done horrible/illegal things as well, and their secrets are also hidden in deposit boxes, and with their power, money, and immorality, they would stop at nothing to make sure their secrets are kept safe.

So, while these boys think this could be an easy chance at a clean getaway with a shitload of valuables, they soon find out that they were sorely mistaken.

I thought this movie was great. It had plenty of action and suspense, as well as wit, and it created for a very well executed adventure. Character development is also spectacular, and you soon grow to care about all robbers involved, and their loved ones. I've seen many movies where I don't give a crap about characters, and it leaves their story to be really unsatisfying, but this movie is the complete opposite. Now, it's not a drama where you're going to cry and have a real life lesson to walk out with, but you still get attached to the characters and it helps amplify the suspense and your wanting them to get out of the situation alive.

The only real critique I would have, and it might just be because I get confused every now and then, but there were SO many storylines that sometimes the movie was hard to follow. Things happen so quickly, that I didn't understand what was happening with certain events/characters, or who was associated with who, until towards the end of the movie. But, at the same time, that makes for a great replay value!

All in all, I really enjoyed the movie, and wouldn't be opposed to seeing it in the theatre again - to get a better understanding of the subplots and to see it from the perspective that you get when you know what's going to happen. I would definitely recommend this movie to those who like action/suspense movies that rely more on suspense and characters than car races/fighting.

I still want to see Horton though...


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