Charlie Croker (Michael Caine, The Dark Knight, Get Carter, Zulu) is released from prison, and given the the “job” of hijacking an Italian convoy of gold bars from under the noses of the Italian Mafia. The plan is laid out at the start of the film, and is shown to us (and to Croker) in a series of black and white films. Croker puts together a team of people to make the job happen, travels to Turin, and then implements the plan exactly how it was described. Three Mini Coopers are used for the getaway cars, which gives the film most of its character, and makes it popular with Mini fans. The only twist to the film is at the end, which is left open-ended, and up to the imagination of the viewer to work out what could happen next.
This film has many car-centric scenes, with car chases, driving stunts and scenes of expensive cars being destroyed by being thrown down an Italian cliff face. You have to appreciate that the driving stunts were probably cutting-edge at the time, but by today’s standards appear extremely dated. We are used to seeing very fast-paced action scenes, and very dramatic stunts shot from many different camera angles, and with fast cuts. This film has none of those, and so comparing it to modern day driving films makes it look very plain, and lacks excitement. In the driving scenes defence is the knowledge that the stunts are much more honest, and haven’t been over-dramatised with special effects or CGI.
There is some great music in this film that firmly concretes the film in the era in which it was made. But the music is under-used. There are many scenes, especially the driving scenes which were often shown without a music track. Even at the film’s most exciting driving scenes when the mini coopers are making their getaway through Turin, music only starts when the cars have escaped all danger.
There are a lack of obstacles getting in the way of Croker’s plan. Croker and his gang are criminals performing a robbery, and therefore we can assume they are fearful of being caught by the police, but this is barely shown. The Italian Police only appear in a few scenes, after the crime has taken place and the police give chase. But they are definitely not a worthy adversary, and are easily outwitted. The only real threat to Croker and his gang is the Italian Mafia, who are shown twice in the film that they have the inclination to destroy nice looking cars, serving as a warning to Croker. After this though, they are almost forgotten about and do not prove any danger to Croker’s plan.
There are some classic lines in the film, including the famous line “You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off.” which is delivered brilliantly by Caine. There are a few more examples of great wit, but these dry up very early on, and there are huge portions of the film where there is no dialogue at all, replaced fully by long scenes of driving.
There are a few brilliant characters in this film. Caine plays his character brilliantly, but doesn’t get enough screen time for us to fully get the know the character. His motivation is easy to understand however. He wants money, simple as that.
A character that split our group however was the British Mafia boss Mr Bridger. A pompous Royalist inmate who seems to run the prison in which he is held. The character is strong, but doesn’t have any depth or development, and hogs much more screen time than he needs.
The other characters are stereotypes. The Mini Cooper getaway drivers all have one character, which is “posh”. The computer programmer played by Benny Hill is a man who loves to chase the larger ladies, the casting here is perfect because Benny Hill just plays himself. The humour here is extremely dated and just makes his few scenes something from a Carry On film. The bus driver is named “Big William” and we are told this is for “Obvious reasons”. This is because “Big William” is black, and seems to have been turned into a racial stereotype.
This film’s legacy is one of British patriotism. It uses the Red, White and Blue of the Union Jack consistently throughout, most prominently as the colours of the three getaway Minis. Again, using the Mini Cooper is another symbol of Britishness. The driving scenes make this film very popular with car fans, and undoubtedly the film will always be held high in certain people’s opinion because of this.
Verdict
Fun film that is reasonably engaging, but doesn’t demand your full attention. This film is best if you appreciate the time it was made in. But unfortunately time has moved on, and a film which so heavily relies on the driving stunts these days just needs to be better to create the same entertainment value.
Reviewed by Onion
Popularity: 1% [?]
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