The Bank JobMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Bank Job."

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Avg. Critic Score: 69 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    One of the pleasures of The Bank Job is that it returns us to the days when robbing a bank was a gritty, hole-in-the-wall affair. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Dull title for a juicy, fact-based caper movie that's full of surprises I have no intention of spoiling. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle |

    A brisk, entertaining crime thriller. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Imagine a blend of "Snatch," "Ocean's 11" and "The Italian Job." Then juxtapose the staples of the caper genre with real events involving national security and high-level corruption, and the result is The Bank Job. Read full review

  • 70
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    The Bank Job engages us fully with a tale that's well-fashioned more than anything else, a fascinating study of morality at several levels of English society, and of honor, or the lack of it, among implausibly likable thieves. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Kevin Crust

    The film dawdles at times. but for the most part Donaldson keeps just the right amount of tension present in each scene. Read full review

  • 70
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    What makes director Roger Donaldson's movie greater than zany heist fare is that this particular robbery really happened and that this episode illuminated an almost moral clash between the haves and the have-nots of Great Britain. Read full review

  • 60
    The Hollywood Reporter | Frank Scheck

    A slow-paced and often confusingly plotted crime drama that never lives up to the delicious potential of its premise. Read full review

  • 60
    Variety |

    An engrossing if underwhelming period thriller. Read full review

  • 60
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    The workmanlike title The Bank Job is a nice fit for this wham-bam caper flick. Read full review

View more reviews for The Bank Job on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Caper movie mixes clichés, brutal violence.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this edgy heist thriller has several scenes that show or insinuate "kinky" sex (bondage, domination) being paid for by British government officials. There's also partial nudity (breasts) and a thematic focus on scandals involving pornography and prostitution. Violence includes the prolonged torture/murder of a sympathetic crook; you can also expect plenty of gun use and fighting. Drugs (both dealing and smuggling) are discussed frequently, and scenes show marijuana use, cigarette smoking, and drinking. Language includes lots of "f--k"s, plus other profanity and British slang ("wanker," etc.).
  • Families can talk about how heist movies tend to portray their "heroes." Even though they're planning robberies, characters like Terry and the guys in the Ocean's movies are sympathetic -- is that realistic? What defines a "good guy" and a "bad guy"? How does this movie make Terry and his outlaw gang seem less offensive than the bad cops and government authorities? Viewers who want to know more about the unsolved real-life 1971 robbery that inspired the movie can click here.
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Thieves are affable and crafty; sex-seeking government officials and dirty cops are smug and corrupt; gangsters and pimps are brutal. One thief's very generous "civilian" wife forgives him.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: Gangsters carry guns and beat and torture their opponents. Weapons include guns, knives, and a blow torch. Images include bloody gunshot wounds and a dead body post-torture by burning. Thugs threaten the hero by smashing cars at his workplace. A stereotypical militant postures aggressively throughout the film and menaces an associate's girlfriend, eventually shooting her in a grave in Trinidad (this scene is brutal; she dies off screen, but you hear the shot and see her decayed body dug up by authorities weeks later).
  • sex false5 Sex: Several sex scenes. Two women and a man have sex -- nakedness is clear (bare backs and breasts). In a sex club, a dominatrix whips a man in his underwear; there are women in bras and panties, some showing breasts and nipples. Scene in a bank vault features kissing and pawing. Photo intended for blackmail shows blurry sexual situations. Strippers appear in a club clad in thongs and nipple pasties. Sexual slang includes talk about oral sex, genitals, "tits," "wankers," and "prick."
  • language false5 Language: Lots of swearing, particularly "f--k." Other language includes "s--t" (sometimes used with "-hole" and "dog-"), "ass," "c--t," and "bastard."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: London banks shown include Lloyds and Barclays.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Gangsters and cops are involved in drug dealing and smuggling. Frequent cigarette smoking and drinking in pubs and other social situations. Conversation about ganja; several scenes show marijuana smoking. A gangster takes prescription pills for kidney stone pain.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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Dave White

4.5

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… it's a lot of fun … Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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