A cheerful; energetic; and completely entertaining movie; The Bank Job follows some small-time hoods who think they've lucked into a big-time opportunity when they learn a bank's security system will be temporarily suspended--little suspecting that they're being manipulated by government agents for their own ends. The result is that the movie doubles its pleasures: While the robbery itself has the usual suspense of a heist film; when the robbery is over the hoods find themselves being hunted by the police; the government; and brutal criminal kingpins who were storing dangerous information in a safety deposit box. The Bank Job won't win any awards; but it's enormously fun. Director Roger Donaldson (No Way Out; Species) propels the action along with vigor; editing zippily with perfect clarity among multiple storylines and various colorful characters. Jason Statham (Snatch; The Transporter); as the leader of the bank robbers; successfully steps away from his usual bone-crunching roles to a more human presence. The rest of the cast--including Saffron Burrows (Deep Blue Sea); Keeley Hawes (Tipping the Velvet); David Suchet (Poirot); and many faces familiar from British film and television--give their characters the right degree of personality and flavor without getting fussy or detracting from the headlong rush of the story. A little sex; a lot of action; a sly sense of humor; and a twisty plot; if more movies had these basic pleasures; the world would be a happier place. --Bret Fetzer

Stills from Bank Job (click for larger image)