Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

benturkalj When I first decided to watch 'The Bank', I really new very little about it, only that got some pretty good reviews and had two of Australia's finest actors in it. Afterwards, I can say that it offers a very well structured and acted piece of work, with a very neat twist towards the end.What is most important about this film, though in many ways it is a mystery, is it's focus on greed, and how incredibly focused one has to be in the business world. Wenham, who plays the part of a brilliant mathematician who has developed a formula for anticipating the stock market, is constantly challenged by the 'banks' CEO into forgetting all morality for a buck.Overall, there's a great deal of great characterizations in this fine tale, but revealing anything else about the flick would probably ruin it for most, so all I can say is that I recommend it to anyone who can find it.

vittorio_bollo I got the DVD out of this 2001 film with some anticipation. After all, the credentials of the film looked really good: an Australian film, starring Anthony LaPaglia, a diatribe on global corporatism and, especially, the banking system and, to top it all, a winner for Best Original Screenplay at the prestigious AFI Awards. Well, unfortunately, the film was, in its entirety, very disappointing. For one, it did not deserve to win Best Screenplay at the AFI or any other awards show for that matter. Conceptually the film did indeed have its merits but, alas, that does not necessarily a great screenplay make. What the film had brimming in promise (read: concept), it lacked sorely in true substance and, above all, plausibility (read: a good story). The plot line was simply not entirely believable and, quite frankly, it wrapped itself up just a tad too neatly at the end. For example, the lead character's true identity (and one of the turning points upon which the film's so-called 'final twist' relied) was executed very clumsily and unconvincingly. This screenplay worked neither as taut social commentary or satire nor as a dark drama/thriller and, in failing to work within a strong genre, it completely lost its impact. The script, whilst having some notable one-liners and observations about the banking/corporate world was, still quite poor in terms of real plot development and emotional buy-in.The direction by director-writer Robert Connolly was competent without ever excelling in terms of plot revelation, mood depiction or genre-shaping flow. Simply put, the film lacked real drive, emotion or excitement and, frankly, the blame must rest squarely with the director; a director that, whilst seemingly assured and technically sound, lacked vision and verve in his execution here. As a result, the film is strangely flat, oddly devoid of any exciting build-up and simply does not linger in the memory.Technically, the film cannot be outright faulted, but neither does that make it technically excellent. The photography by Tristan Milani was appropriately severe and steely-blue. Yet, the depiction of a corporate-geared Australian city (for a non-Australian, one struggles to know whether it's Sydney or Melbourne?) without real identity and sense of place was, in fact, a negative for the film's sense of mood depiction. The blame there should lie with director and cinematographer. The editing, particularly in regard to the computer graphics and F/X, had some merit, although, once again, a sense of verve was required here too. The worst culprit, however, was the at times clanging and even jarring musical score by Alan John. This is one score that ranged from being eerily excellent to downright annoying and distracting; ultimately, any excellence thereof was diluted. In terms of acting, the saving grace of this film was indeed Anthony LaPaglia. His presence was broody, exacting and menacing, without resorting to the caricature of what a rich, corporate asshole should be portrayed. Kudos to him for a retrained, pitch-perfect performance. Unfortunately, the acting by the other actors in the film was far from riveting or even that good; a surprising letdown hardly ever seen in Australian cinema. The lead actor, David Wenham, had some moments of adequate intensity and character truth but, as a whole, he came across as insipid and unconvincing as a clearly left-leaning mathematical genius. Sibylla Budd as the (totally unnecessary and badly written) love interest simply came across as a very poor actress. She flinched and fluttered her eyelids at all the wrong moments and the intensity of her fledgling and confused feelings for our intrepid lead man were simply unconvincing and untouching.The film's highlights? LaPaglia, some of the core social and banking-related issues that are wittily remarked upon and a (limited) amount of interesting social commentary. But, ultimately, this was a film that could have been, should have been, and simply fails. It had such contemporary, relevant and dynamic themes to run with and yet, throughout, it came across as merely derivative, unconvincing and even quite dull. This all made "The Bank" an even bigger letdown than most other disappointing films and its critical/award success even more puzzling and quite undeserving. The pedigree was all there but the chance to be a real winner of a film was simply lost.

film_ophile A real tour-de-force from beginning to end. So well-crafted. The cinematography and music both work hand in hand to play a huge part in the triumph of this noir. The editing is sharp, fast paced and so economical. Not a wasted shot. So many fascinating camera angles. All of these components, along with a taut, completely believable script and spot-on acting by all concerned,created a work that captured and mesmerized me for its duration. Anthony Lapaglia does great work with his subtle eyes; the blond lead holds the screen equally. I found the intercutting between the two stories- one big-time, one small-time, to be particularly effective. a true "10"- so rare!!

frankgaipa For perhaps half an hour, this is an engaging, math-based sci-fi thriller. A lot of fractal imagery, some table-cloth scribbling, a table-cloth spill, talk about chaos theory. First key, in a scene from the protagonist's childhood, is an explanation of the ramifications of compound interest. Second, in a corporate sweatbox dedicated to programming stock market predictions, is a line that could have come out of Asimov's "Foundation" novels: "It's hard as hell to predict what one man will do; take a hundred, it's much easier." Not long after this line, a conventional plot takes over. You could go home, write the remainder of the film yourself, and probably catch most of the telegraphed surprises.Touchpoints for the first half hour: "Pi," "Moebius," "Enigma," the more statistical of Stanislaw Lem's novels (The Chain of Chance, The Investigation). Kobo Abe's novels and the films based on a few of them ("Sunna no onna," "Tanin no kao," etc.) without stooping to actual numbers, all ooze the mathematics of choice and chance. What's a dune made of, besides the sand? What's a face made of, one's own or another's, besides the cells?