A car dealer with a dodgy past and new family, Terry has always avoided major-league scams. But when Martine, a beautiful model from his old neighborhood, offers him a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London's Baker Street, Terry recognizes the opportunity of a lifetime. Martine targets a roomful of safe deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry. But Terry and his crew don't realize the boxes also contain a treasure trove of dirty secrets - secrets that will thrust them into a deadly web of corruption and illicit scandal that spans London's criminal underworld, the highest echelons of the British government, and the Royal Family itself...the true story of a heist gone wrong...in all the right ways.

Coming into the film I was expecting a slick and stylized action film what I got was not what I expected. Sure there is plenty of stylized action in the movie but the movie was more than just that. The film also is a great heist film filled with plenty of drama and some slapstick British comedy. That is what kind of throws you off is that the movie isn't your traditional Hollywood Blockbuster instead more like the old British heist movies of the late 1960's. From films like the original Italian Job and Thomas Crown Affair the movie takes its cue from these kind of classics with its tongue in cheek humor and black comedy. Then mix it plenty of action sequences and the movie is sheer fun and highly enjoyable.

The film is based on true events about a real robbery that took place during the 1970's and led to zero arrests even though millions and millions of dollars were heisted. The bank job led to a complete overall of the Scotland yard detectives as the corruption within was brought to light by the robbery. So the film adds that mixture of intrigue as dirty cops do battle with cleans ones and a group of thieves pull off one of the most daring robberies ever. It's a mixture that works well together and makes for a fantastic film.

This is the kind of film if it weren't based on real events that everything would seem so unreal and untrue because of the sheer gustiness it took for these wannabe bank robberies to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes and get away with millions. Sure everything doesn't work to plan but that's half the fun of a heist movie and true to real life.

I think the reason I went in expecting a stylized action movie is because that seems to be all the Jason Statham has done in his film career. There is a reason he does a lot of those type of films and its because he has that arrogant charisma that is so fitting for those movies. But unlike action heroes of yesteryear like Sly and Arnold he also has a little more talent as an actor so it is good to seem him stretch his legs so to speak. The rest of the cash is such a pleasant mix of characters and rogues that it just fills out the movie brilliantly. If you are looking for a funny, entertaining heist movie the Bank Job is a must see.

Grade: B+