James Melzer is a Senior Staff Writer at MovieWeb, working remotely from Pennsylvania. He covers the hottest entertainment news, as well as the latest and greatest in streaming from around the world. James has been a regular staple at MovieWeb for almost three years, writing everything from lists and features, to breaking news and movie reviews.
Before joining MovieWeb, James covered pop culture news for a variety of different media sites, including Manolith and Real TV Addict. He also hosted a successful audio podcast, where he interviewed everyone from authors and artists, to screenwriters and actors.
Jason Statham might be tearing up the streaming charts these days with his newest hit, Shelter, but another one of the action icon’s thrillers certainly deserves attention on its new free streaming home. While Statham has been portrayed as an unstoppable force in his more recent movies, this 2008 gem shows a vulnerable side to the English actor that helped make it a success at the box office.
Based on the 1971 Baker Street robbery in London, Statham stars in the often overlooked crime thriller as Terry Leather, a self-reformed petty criminal who now lives life as a married car salesman. Like most of us, Leather is struggling financially, so when an ex-girlfriend approaches him with an opportunity at riches, Terry finds it too good to pass up. Utilizing his criminal contacts from his old life, he assembles a band of misfits for the heist of the century, only to realize there are other agendas at play.
Titled The Bank Job, the 2008 crime thriller was a smash hit nearly two decades ago. Directed by Roger Donaldson (Dante’s Peak, The Recruit), it was made for just $20 million, and went on to gross $66 million at the worldwide box office, making it a financial success. This was around the time other Statham movies such as Crank, Death Race, and Transporter 3 saw Statham step into his own as an over-the-top action hero, so to see him play an everyman with real problems was a nice change of pace for moviegoers.
Rated 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Bank Job is also one of the rare Statham thrillers that is Certified Fresh on the website. The star has only three other movies that have achieved that feat: Spy, Furious 7, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Called a “brilliant” film by more than a few critics and viewers, The Bank Job also has a respectable audience score of 74% from more than 250,000 ratings.
While it is available to rent or purchase on pretty much every platform available, if you’d rather sit back and watch The Bank Job with a few ad breaks, you’re in luck. The film was recently added to the free streaming service, Plex, which means it won’t cost you a dime to see what is arguably one of Statham’s best movies. When you’re finished, you can also check out some other fun action movies starring The Stath, including Homefront, War, Blitz, and Killer Elite.
Next up for Statham is the action thriller, Mutiny, which hits theaters on Aug, 21. Look for him to also reprise one of his most popular roles next year when he returns as Adam Clay in The Beekeeper 2, which is slated to be released on Jan, 15, 2027. Aside from The Bank Job, you can also catch Statham’s latest, Shelter, streaming now on Starz, where it is currently the most popular movie on the streaming service in the United States, beating the likes of Sydney Sweeney’s The Housemaid, and Stephen King’s The Long Walk.
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