Abstract: Charlie Croker gets out of jail and attempts to perform a $4 million heist in Italy.
Pros:
-Phenomenal action sequences, namely, the car chase with the Mini Coopers and the raid on the armored car.
-Excellent acting from all the entire cast, in particular, Michael Caine as Charlie and Noel Coward as the uber-patriotic British crime boss, Mr. Bridger. Margaret Blye did a good job as Charlie's girlfriend, Lorna and Benny Hill was fantastic as Professor Simon Peach.
-The film was campy and hilarious. A man fights off criminal henchmen with a teddy bear. A getaway driver swipes a chicken off a restaurant table during an escape attempt. The tongue-in-cheek song titled "Get A Bloomin' Move On (The Self-Preservation Society)" is catchy and parodies the greed of the protagonists. One man's obsession with big-boned women puts him at the mercy of the Italian police. The British poke fun at themselves with Mr. Bridger's eccentricities, such as his obsession with the Queen.
-The scenes are very well-edited.
Cons:
-The film endly poorly with an awful cliffhanger. Literally. The movie deserved a much better resolution.
-The Italian mafia was underutilized as antagonists in the film.
-I have a hard time believing that wooden bats would be an effective weapon against the Italian police.
Overall: Excellent (4/5). Gold heist-$4 million. Movie-free on Netflix. Michael Caine as an action star-priceless.
(Photo from filmsdefrance.com. All rights belong to the copyright holder.)
