The Italian Job
- Review Date: October 19, 2003
- Rated: PG-13
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Release Year: 2003
Common Sense Media says
Exciting heist film for teens and their families.
- Review Date: October 19, 2003
- Rated: PG-13
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Release Year: 2003
What parents need to know
Violence
Sex
Language
Consumerism
Drinking, drugs, & smoking
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this movie has a lot of tense scenes. Characters are shot and killed, and there are implications of other painful murders. Characters punch someone as a way to satisfy feelings of betrayal and revenge. The main characters are all thieves, charming or not, and while they show loyalty and are committed to crime without violence, they are hardly role models. There is some strong language and characters drink alcohol.
User reviews
Parents say
Kids say
What's the story?
THE ITALIAN JOB begins with the theft of $35 million in gold bars. Then, a second theft occurs as one of the team double-crosses the others and, thinking he has killed them all, takes the gold for himself. Now, the rest of the team tries to get the gold back. The team is led by Charlie (Mark Wahlberg), and includes genius tech whiz Lyle (Seth Green), genius demolition whiz Left Ear (Mos Def), genius getaway driver Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), genius safecracker Stella (Charlize Theron), the daughter of Charlie's great mentor -- and genius safecracker John (Donald Sutherland). They want to get the gold back from colleague-turned-enemy Steve (Edward Norton), who killed John. Stella just wants revenge. And if a little romance enters into the picture, no one should be too surprised.
Is it any good?
QUALITY
Charlie keeps telling Steve that he has no imagination, an unfortunate reminder that the movie, a remake of a Michael Caine caper film doesn't have much, either. But it has enough panache and charm to make it an enjoyable genre film. Def, Green, Statham, and Sutherland deliver their usual top-notch performances, even when the script gets formulaic. Norton, who reportedly was not happy about being contractually obligated to do the film, at least acts as if he was not happy about being contractually obligated to do the film.
The film's biggest waste of time is a running Napster joke that is two years out of date and tired the first time it is used, excruciating by the 10th. Apparently, they were stuck with it because of the appearance in the film of real-life Napster creator Shawn Fanning in the film, a joke maybe one percent of the audience will get and one tenth of one percent will care about.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about why we are able to identify with characters in a movie that in real life we probably would not want to cheer for. Why are these people theives? Will they stop?
Movie details
| Theatrical release date: | May 30, 2003 |
| DVD release date: | October 7, 2003 |
| Cast: | Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Mark Wahlberg |
| Director: | F. Gary Gray |
| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Topics: | Cars and trucks |
| Run time: | 104 minutes |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | violence and some language |
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QUALITY
Edge-of-your-seat action!
This is an exciting movie clean enough for anyone 12+. There's some iffy content for anyone younger. The main characters steal for a living, so the good guys are bad guys, and the bad guys are REALLY bad guys. The movie never slows down, I enjoyed it alot. But it may be akward telling your kids that the good guys are the ones they see stealing.
QUALITY
Great movie, but there's one big problem.
This was a really fun movie and I've enjoyed watching it several times now. The thing I think parents need to be careful about is the way the movie portrays crime. In the beginning you've got thieves stealing most of whom all of the sudden become the victims of the "bad" thief. As the saying goes...there is no honor amoung thieves. On top of that the casting is very good, so it's easy to love the good "bad guys" in this movie. There are a lot of movies that do this, just make sure you have a conversation with your children about what really happens to criminals the majority of the time. Oh, one other thing is that there is a part toward the end where one of the characters makes a reference to being filled with the Holy Spirit. Funny part, but makes light of sacred things.
QUALITY
Questionable Message
This was a very exciting movie no doubt... packed with action, cool cars, and great computers. However, it contained plenty of questionable elements. It placed a very high vaulue on money, money, money. It excused stealing and lying. Also language and violence marred the film. Would not reccomend it to an adult or child.
