"The Italian Job" is unoriginal, but somehow still manages to be clever and entertaining.

At first glance this seems an ordinary bad-guy movie whose main characters are glorified thieves. After pulling off an amazingly complex heist in Venice, their millions are stolen by one of their own. The plot then jumps forward a year, with the remaining thieves wanting to get revenge on the traitor in their midst. They develop another fantastical and entertainingly unrealistic plan, and then try to perform a complex robbery between thieves.

The movie's highlights are its chase scenes, where the protagonist and crew race the newfangled sport cars, Minis, against motorcyclists and a helicopter.

As is customary in heist movies, ingenious plans and paradoxical stunts pervade "The Italian Job." Half the entertainment value of the film is it's strangely delightful surprises, like watching a safe fall through three stories of a Venetian house to land in a getaway boat.

The story includes the usual plot twists and think-on-your-feet action, but lacks an overall purpose. Another fault is the astounding lack of character development, which is low even by Hollywood standards. "The Italian Job" has its funny parts, and other parts that are laughable, though not intentionally.

All in all, "The Italian Job" is not a must-see movie, but is still worth your time.