Entertainment
18 Years Later, Jason Statham’s Forgotten Heist Thriller Is Hooking Free Streaming Viewers Fast
Before Jason Statham fully settled into his modern action-star groove, he led a different kind of crime movie — one with less brute-force chaos and more old-school heist tension. It had the swagger you’d expect from a Statham vehicle, but it also came with a messier web of corruption, secrets, and double-crosses than a standard smash-and-grab thriller.
That movie was The Bank Job, and it’s now found a new streaming life. Eighteen years after its 2008 release, the film is currently streaming free on Fawesome, which lists it in the platform’s crime lineup. Directed by Roger Donaldson and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, The Bank Job is based on the real-life 1971 Baker Street robbery, with the film framing the heist around not just money, but compromising secrets tucked away in a London bank’s safety deposit boxes. It was made on a reported $20 million budget and grossed about $66.1 million worldwide, making it a solid performer for a mid-budget thriller.
The cast is led by Statham as Terry Leather (sensational name, that one), with Saffron Burrows as Martine Love, Stephen Campbell Moore as Kevin Swain, Daniel Mays as Dave Shilling, and James Faulkner as Guy Singer. The film also stars David Suchet as Lew Vogel, Keeley Hawes as Wendy Leather, Richard Lintern as Tim Everett, Peter Bowles as Miles Urquhart, Alistair Petrie as Philip Lisle, Colin Salmon as Hakim Jamal, and Peter De Jersey as Michael X.
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Is ‘The Bank Job’ Worth Watching?
Jim Emerson, writing for RogerEbert.com, stated that The Bank Job is a perfectly serviceable B-grade heist thriller that delivers a familiar mix of crime, conspiracy, and double-crossing, but ultimately struggles to rise above the many caper films it clearly draws inspiration from. However, despite the sensational elements of royal scandal, espionage, gangsters, blackmail, and corruption, the film rarely feels as thrilling as its premise suggests. Director Roger Donaldson moves the story along efficiently, but the execution often feels routine compared to classic heist films that explore similar territory.
“One semi-redeeming element is that the film was inspired by true events. The shocking 1971 Lloyds Bank robbery was a big story, until four days later when it suddenly wasn’t. The whole thing abruptly and mysteriously vanished from the papers, radio and television, reportedly due to a ‘D-Notice’ issued by the highest authorities banning all press coverage. And it’s such a good story. What a shame it isn’t more memorably told. The director is the bewilderingly uneven Roger Donaldson (Smash Palace, No Way Out, Cadillac Man, Cocktail). The cast are fine (as British grammar would have it). Sorry there isn’t more to report.”
The Bank Job is streaming on Fawesome.
- Release Date
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March 7, 2008
- Runtime
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112 Minutes
- Director
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Roger Donaldson