Charlie's got a 'job' to do. Having just left prison he finds one of his friends has attempted a high-risk job in Torino, Italy, right under the nose of the mafia. Charlie's friend doesn't get very far, so Charlie takes over the 'job'. Using three Mini Coopers, a couple of Jaguars, and a bus, he hopes to bring Torino to a standstill, steal a fortune in gold and escape in the chaos.
I had previously seen this decades ago and with the new Kino Lorber 4K release, decided to give it another try as the first time I wasn't all that entertained. And my opinion pretty much remains the same. The highlight is the car chase scenes in the third act and Michael Caine is great, but the set-up felt really slow and throughout the second act I found myself not very invested. **3.0/5**
If Michael Caine is to have an epitaph on his grave stone; then it would have to be "you're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" His portrayal of "Charlie Croker" is excellent in this crime caper about a cunning plan to paralyse the traffic in Turin and steal loads of Italian gold from under the noses of both the Carabinieri and the mafia. Guided from his prison cell by criminal mastermind Noël Coward, they plan - with the help of a seemingly inexhaustible supply of Mini Cooper's - this audacious robbery. It's not the most complex cinema you'll ever see, but it is funny and enjoyable and the car chase at the end (to music by Quincy Jones) is the stuff of movie legend.