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Mark Wahlberg proves once again that he's a capable lead with his workmanlike performance in this super-slick caper film, a vastly improved remake of the 1969 thriller starring Michael Caine. The erstwhile Marky Mark is suitably intense as the no-nonsense protégé of a ready-to-retire master thief (Donald Sutherland), who accompanies him on a Venice heist that nets their gang a cool $35 million in gold. When one of their sleazy partners (Edward Norton) hijacks the bullion and kills the aging mentor in cold blood, Wahlberg enlists his other crew members (Jason Statham, Seth Green, Mos Def) in a complicated scheme to regain the swag and wreak vengeance on the killer. Glam girl Charlize Theron is rather improbably cast as Sutherland's daughter, a talented safecracker who works as a bank-security consultant; yet she manages to convince the viewer that she's willing and eager to join the lawbreakers and take down the man who murdered her father. As has become de rigueur in today's caper movies, The Italian Job devotes considerable footage to the deployment of high-tech gadgetry by the thieves. Seth Green, whose techno-geek is the film's most colorful character, uses his computer hacking skills to paralyze traffic in Los Angeles -- a move that precipitates the film's most suspenseful sequence, an extended car chase admirably staged by director F. Gary Gray (The Negotiator) and tightly edited to maintain a crackling pace. The well-chosen cast is uniformly good, and there's considerable humor to counterbalance the tense and darker moments. Like many thrillers, this movie is at times wildly improbable -- but it's also a great deal of fun. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

A team of high-class thieves avenge their mentor's death -- with the help of his own daughter -- in this big-budget remake of the 1969 British caper classic. The Italian Job stars Mark Wahlberg as Charlie, the mastermind of a daring Venice heist overseen by John (Donald Sutherland), a lifelong criminal who plans to retire from the fold with the earnings from his most recent take. Basking in the glow of a job well done at a secluded retreat in the Alps, the thieves -- including the aptly-named Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), tech-geek Lyle (Seth Green), and hearing-impaired quipster Left Ear (Mos Def) -- are ruthlessly double-crossed by one of their own, the taciturn, calculating Steve Frezelli (Edward Norton). Time passes and each member of the group finds himself pursuing other opportunities in the States, until Charlie rallies them together for a revenge-motivated scheme designed to bilk Steve of all his misbegotten earnings. In order to cinch the deal, he even enlists John's reluctant safecracking-prodigy daughter, Stella (Charlize Theron), for an elaborate, incognito Los Angeles heist. But the paranoid Steve proves himself to be one step ahead of them at just about every turn, and Charlie finds that he'll have to make some daring last-minute changes to their plan if the team is to succeed. The Italian Job marked director F. Gary Gray's second 2003 release after the Vin Diesel vehicle A Man Apart. Michael Hastings

New York Times

With its impeccable timing, steady kinetic drive and superbly choreographed chase sequences through the canals of Venice and the streets of Los Angeles, the movie, directed by F. Gary Gray, feels a like smooth, exciting whoosh down a ski slope. Stephen Holden

San Francisco Chronicle

This is pure entertainment but smart entertainment, plotted and executed with invention and humor and acted by a winning cast radiating good-movie energy. Mick LaSalle

Product Details

• UPC: 097360569049
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Region Code: 1
• Editions: Special Edition
• Time: 1:50:00
• Sales Rank: 4,758

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• The Italian Job & Primal Fear & The Score
• The Italian Job / Shooter
• Italian Job / Shooter
• The Italian Job / Primal Fear / The Score

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