The Italian Job is a gimmick of a movie. Much like, the overrated The Sting, The Italian Job is all setup and little delivery. Even the ultra-hip cast can't help this movie out.
A group of thieves pull off one of those unbelievable heists that only happen in movies. One of the thieves, Edward Norton, betrays the rest of the crooks and steals the stolen gold from them. The veteran thief in the group, Donald Sutherland, gets killed in the process. The surviving members hook up with the vet's daughter and plot how to get the gold back from the traitor. Other than the final chase scene, that is all that happens.
The problem with this movie is obvious early on. There is no one to like or cheer for. They are all criminals with little personality. The makers of this movie attempt to get the audience to like them. There are some flashbacks that are mildly entertaining. They show how each thief got into the business. This group tries to act like a family. They tell each other that they love each other more than once. So what? They are still criminals.
Through a vast amount of implausible situations and coincidences, they steal the money back and the traitor pursues them as they drive away in the real stars of the movie, those mini cars. Never has such a compact car looked so cool. Of course, it helps to have them driven by contemporary 'hip' stars; muscleman Mark Wahlberg, hottie Charlize Theron, British tough man Jason Statham and comedian Seth Green.
Style is the one and only thing this movie has. From the beautiful on location shots to the mini cars, this movie stinks with exotic flavor. It just lacks completely in emotional response. You are supposed to care about these people and want to see them succeed. However, I must again point out that they are in fact all criminals and thus I didn't give a damn what happened to them.
