A beloved 2003 thriller lauded as "slick" and "stupendous" has arrived on Prime Video. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, and Jason Statham, The Italian Job follows a group of thieves who plan to steal gold from their former associate a year after he double-crossed the group during a job gone wrong.
It was inspired by the 1969 film of the same name that starred Michael Caine, with the '00s version featuring an ensemble cast that also includes the likes of Seth Green, Mos Def, and Donald Sutherland.
The Italian Job proved a commercial and critical success at the time of its release, leading to a sequel, The Brazilian Job, being planned before it was subsequently cancelled.
The thriller holds an impressive 72% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics' consensus reading: "Despite some iffy plot elements, The Italian Job succeeds in delivering an entertaining modern take on the original 1969 heist film, thanks to a charismatic cast."
In its review, RogerEbert.com said The Italian Job was "a slick caper movie with stupendous chase scenes and a truly ingenious way to steal $35 million in gold bars from a safe in a Venetian palazzo".
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The Chicago Reader wrote: "This one offers some agreeably mindless fun in which the villains (including Norton) are truly villainous, the payback is satisfying in a purely infantile way, and the familiarity of everything is oddly comforting."
London Evening Standard added: "It is smart, funny, well-plotted and performed and as slick as a Vaselined eel. If you have to remodel a classic for a new age, this is the way to do it."
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The BBC compared it to the original film, saying: "Peter Collinson's The Italian Job (1969) is not a great film - it's an average film with a great finale. Oh, and another thing: F Gary Gray's remake blows the bloody doors off it."
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle said: "This is pure entertainment but smart entertainment, plotted and executed with invention and humor and acted by a winning cast radiating good-movie energy."
The Italian Job is streaming now on Prime Video.
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