Star-Studded Action Crime Classic Showcases Heist Of A Lifetime
At this point, heist movies have become a genre all their own, with numerous installments in the Mission: Impossible, Fast & Furious, and Oceans franchises centering around the most convoluted and foolproof robberies ever planned. One criminally underrated film, however, showcases a truly heart-thumping heist, which is sure to raise your blood pressure if you decide to stream it on Paramount+ today. The movie in question, 2003’s The Italian Job, is the perfect heist movie in my personal opinion, offering a fascinating plot, a star-studded cast, and a ton of heart.
The Italian Job
For those not familiar with the film, The Italian Job centers on a gang of misfit criminals who successfully pull off a $35 million gold heist in the movie’s opening scenes. The gang is comprised of six men with highly specialized skill sets, including a professional safecracker, a computer hacker, a stunt driver, an explosives expert, and a pair of quick-thinking fixers. After the heist, the crew meets to divide up their earnings, though one of the fixers, Steve, double-crosses the crew, shoots their beloved leader, and departs with the whole payload for himself.
One year later, the surviving members of the team are rallied by Mark Wahlberg’s Charlie Croker, along with the daughter of their former leader, Stella. As Charlie explains to each member as he slowly brings the band back together, he has located Steve in the Hollywood Hills, and plans to exact revenge for the double-cross and take back their score. I don’t want to give away too much of The Italian Job‘s plot here, but suffice it to say, Steve comes highly prepared and offers a robust security system that pushes the crew to their limits.
The Italian Job was directed by F. Gary Gray, who has famously helmed such outings as Friday, Law Abiding Citizen, Straight Outta Compton, and, speaking of the Fast & Furious franchise, 2017’s The Fate of the Furious. As stated above, Mark Wahlberg leads the cast of this star-studded film, alongside the likes of Donald Sutherland, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron, Seth Green, Jason Statham, and Yasiin Bey, who is credited under his now-defunct moniker Mos Def.
Box Office And Reception
The film grossed over $176 million worldwide against an estimated production budget of only $60 million, making it a major financial hit. Critics were mostly positive in their initial reviews of The Italian Job, though some have maligned the project as corny, overly busy, and rife with cliches.
Today, the film has a solid critic score of 72 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Personally, I think The Italian Job is about as good a heist film as you can get. It offers excellent chemistry between the ensemble of leads, a well-laid-out plot, and some truly exciting action set pieces.
Stream The Heist Movie Today
REVIEW SCORE
Whether you’re interested in checking out The Italian Job for the first time, or you’re just long overdue for a rewatch, the film can be streamed on Paramount+ today. While the movie may not have blown up to the heights of some of the previously mentioned franchise outings, I would argue that it holds up better over time than any Fast & Furious outing.
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