Twenty-three years after it first burned rubber through theaters, The Italian Job is getting one more victory lap. The slick 2003 heist thriller starring Jason Statham, Mark Wahlberg, and Charlize Theron is arriving on Kanopy in February, meaning anyone with a library card will soon be able to stream the movie for free. And honestly, there may not be a better time for it to come back.
Statham, with a surprising amount of hair on his head, is a standout, as usual, as Handsome Rob, the smooth-talking getaway driver for the gang. The movie is a remake of the classic 1969 British heist film of the same name. The original film starred Michael Caine as the charming and daring Charlie Croker, who leads a team of thieves in an elaborate plan to steal gold in Turin, Italy.
However, the film also has a touch of controversy over it due to the inclusion of Edward Norton as the movie’s bad guy. Not that casting Norton was an issue, it’s more that he didn’t actually want to make the movie. See, what happened was Norton had a long-standing contract dispute with Paramount. Norton had originally signed a three-film contract with the studio in the mid-1990s, which led to his breakout role in Primal Fear. As his career got bigger, he became pickier about the movies he wanted to do. But by the early 2000s, he had filmed only one project in the three-picture deal, leaving Paramount to enforce the remaining obligations.
When The Italian Job was in development, Paramount called in Norton to fulfill the contract, effectively forcing him into the role of the film’s villain, Steve Frazelli, despite his reluctance. Despite all that, his performance is pretty effective.
Is There a Sequel to ‘The Italian Job’?
Sadly, as of 2026, there are no more Italian Job films. Back in 2009, director F. Gary Gray spoke with Collider’s Steve Weintraub about the prospects of a sequel, but those appear to have fallen by the wayside:
“You know I’d love it if they were to come up with a concept that tops the first movie. That’s the goal, to make sure that whatever the sequel is that it’s as inventive, as creative as the original….if not better. That’s where all the energy is being spent, making sure you don’t do a sequel for the sake of doing a sequel. You want to make sure you top it.”
The Italian Job comes to free streaming on Kanopy next month.
Release Date
May 30, 2003
Runtime
111 minutes
