Fun 'Italian' gets job done

In the midst of a summer movie season filled with a plethora of sequels and comic-book adaptations, comes a fun heist film called The Italian Job. The movie is brainless, entertaining and filled with escapist fun.

A remake of the 1969 Michael Caine film of the same name, this new version stars Mark Wahlberg as the leader of a robbery crew that stages the largest traffic jam in Los Angeles history in order to pull off a theft of a gold bullion worth $27 million.

The film opens with a highly sophisticated team of thieves pulling off a big gold heist in Venice. Donald Sutherland plays John Bridger, the team leader, and Wahlberg is Charlie Croker, John's right-hand man and the guy who makes all the plans.

After their job in Venice, the story re-locates to Los Angeles, where the "big heist" will take place in order to steal back a safe filled with gold that had been stolen by a double-crossing ex-partner (Edward Norton).

Seeking revenge, Croker recruits his old gang (Jason Statham, Mos Def and Seth Green) and adds in a new member to the posse, Stella Bridger (Charlize Theron) who works as a freelance safe-cracker with the Philadelphia Police Department. The team plans it scheme, which involves hacking into L.A.'s Traffic Control System, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority and three Mini Coopers.

This is a film where you cannot think about the plausibility factor. The audience must completely throw it out the window with this film. For example, there is not a single LAPD officer in sight during the final chase/heist that involves a helicopter, five armed cars and the three BMW Mini Cooper cars.

As for the cast, Wahlberg finally does a decent job in the lead of his many "remake films" done in past years. Theron, the sole female member, has fun with her part and is the most fashionable and sexy safe-cracker put on film yet. Seth Green (Austin Powers) gets the best one-liners as Lyle, a computer genius who speaks in "nerd ebonics" and steals every scene he's in. The weakest link of the cast is Norton. He's not creepy enough for this part and his heart was not in his performance here.

Still, The Italian Job has fun characters, an interesting scenario and pacing that is just right. If screenings of X2 and The Matrix Reloaded are sold out, check this one out.