‘The Italian Job’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan
August 11, 2026 · The Italian Job (2003) · Action · Crime · Thriller · 1:44:08 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
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Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Bill Simmons▶ 3:59The Italian Job (2003) basically supercharged/set the template for the Fast & Furious franchise from Fast Four onward — the crew-assembling, heist, and stunt DNA all traces back to this movie.
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:30:06All the heists in the movie are in the wrong order and they featured the wrong one: the Venice heist — by far the coolest, and the actual 'Italian job' — should have ended the movie, and the LA finale they chose was the least interesting heist.
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill Simmons▶ 42:52The opening ~20 minutes combined: Charlize talking to her dad on the phone, the Venice safe heist/speedboat/gondola chase, Donald Sutherland's toast/advice speech before he gets shot, and the underwater double-cross scene with Ed Norton.
Chris Ryan▶ 43:09The Venice heist/speedboat chase sequence ('let's fucking go... incredible use of gondola boats... underwater robbery stuff'), also mentions the team-assembling/backstories scene.
Van Lathan▶ 43:30The Venice boat chase/heist scene, plus the driving rain scene where we meet Mos Def (Skinny Pete).
What's Aged the Best
Van Lathan▶ 59:49Korean driving ranges (K-Town) and 'Terrifying Samoa dudes' around LA (below the 10)
Butch's Girlfriend Award
Bill Simmons▶ 1:01:28The money/economics of the heist not making sense - the gold should have been worth much more (like $100-130 million) given the risk, and there's no realistic law enforcement/police helicopter response after they blow up Hollywood Boulevard
Chris Ryan▶ 1:01:35Also focuses on the money not adding up - questions whether the heist crew actually profits given all the overhead costs (warehouses, cars, tech, etc.)
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:02:02Agrees with the money math being off - breaks down that Norton only spent ~$8 million to build an entire mansion/army/security operation, finding the budget unrealistic
Van Lathan▶ 1:05:15The biggest nit is the total absence of LAPD police helicopters ('ghetto birds') during a low-altitude helicopter heist in LA, which would realistically scramble police response and ruin the whole plan
What's Aged the Worst
Chris Ryan▶ 1:21:39The movie's gun violence logic has aged worst — post-John Wick, it's hard to watch characters not just shoot Statham's character when they have the chance ('he killed Donald Sutherland, just kill him')
Van Lathan▶ 1:14:51Jason Statham's hair-covered head/hairline has aged the worst, since hair transplants became common in movies afterward (referencing Jeremy Piven's Ari Gold transformation)
Casting What-Ifs
Bill Simmons▶ 1:25:53Mark Wahlberg dropped out of SWAT to do this movie (Colin Farrell got that role instead), and Giovanni Ribisi was supposed to play the Seth Green part but couldn't do it.
Van Lathan▶ 1:26:10Questions whether SWAT with Wahlberg would have been better, says he likes SWAT as is.
Joey Pants Award
Bill Simmons▶ 1:26:48Skinny Pete (Scott Adsit from 30 Rock), 'that guy' who is an actor rehearsing in traffic
Sequel/Prequel/Limited Series/Remake
Bill Simmons▶ 1:36:02Missed opportunity that they never made a sequel given the movie made ~$200 million; would have gone to see at least one more sequel
Chris Ryan▶ 1:35:54Wanted a prestige TV show about Danny Ocean's crew/Donald Sutherland's character (the Basher Tarr-type figure) as a spin-off
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:36:11The Stella Bridger (safecracker) character could have gotten her own international heist series
Van Lathan▶ 1:36:38Pivots to broader point that there's rarely an all-black-cast heist movie treated with the same 'elegant/ingenious' framing as all-white heist films like Ocean's 11; cites Takers, Uptown Saturday Night, Let's Do It Again as closest examples but argues black-led heist crimes are perceived differently by audiences due to institutional bias
Is This Movie Better With
Van Lathan▶ 1:38:34Doesn't explicitly vote yes/no but praises the Derek Vinyard performance and the mini coopers vs helicopters scene, calling it his favorite performance of Edward Norton and the movie 'sublime'
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Bill Simmons▶ 1:39:34Notes the crew made $24 million but caused $490 million in damage, and questions why nobody seems to be actively hunting them down afterward, given only one throwaway news reference to it.
Bill Simmons▶ 1:40:37Jokes that Carl Reiner would get bumped off Danny's crew to make room; also says the gold brick / Mini Cooper is the most memorable image from the movie.
Chris Ryan▶ 1:39:47Points out Mos Def's line about needing to swap burner phones due to 'heat on the lines' makes no sense since no cops are ever shown looking for them.
Van Lathan▶ 1:39:59Asks who in The Italian Job crew is better at their job than their Ocean's Eleven counterpart, and answers Handsome Rob (the getaway driver) is the only one who could make Danny Ocean's crew.
Movies Referenced (60)
Directors Referenced (3)
Kevin Costner
2 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Chris Ryan · Known for Dances with Wolves, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves▶ 1:11:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Christopher Nolan
1 mentions · Craig Horlbeck · Known for Tenet, Interstellar, Inception▶ 1:29:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Actors Referenced (15)
Christopher Walberg
5 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Little Giants▶ 8:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Jason Statham
4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Craig Horlbeck · Known for Crank, Furious 7, The Meg▶ 1:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Colin Farrell
2 mentions · Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for The Lobster, In Bruges, S.W.A.T.▶ 1:26:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Luke Wilson
2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan · Known for Old School, The Royal Tenenbaums▶ 3:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Bruce Willis
1 mentions · Van Lathan · Known for Die Hard, Pulp Fiction▶ 59:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Carl Reiner
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Ocean's Eleven, The Jerk▶ 1:40:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Charles Bronson
1 mentions · Van Lathan · Known for Once Upon a Time in the West, The Great Escape▶ 25:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Robert Evans
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Chinatown, Marathon Man▶ 1:38:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Seth Green
1 mentions · Van Lathan · Known for The Italian Job, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery▶ 1:40:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Steven Seagal
1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Under Siege 2: Dark Territory▶ 15:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗