The Bank Job

The Bank Job is a 2008 crime film based on a 1971 true-life robbery of a bank in Baker Street, London, from which the money and valuables stolen were never recovered. The story was prevented from being told because of a D-Notice government gagging request, allegedly to protect a prominent member of the British Royal Family.

According to the producers, this movie is intended to reveal the truth for the first time,although it includes significant elements of fiction and the extent to which it represents historical fact is difficult to determine. The premiere was held in London on 18 February 2008, and the film was released in the UK on 28 February 2008

Terry (Jason Statham) owns a failing car-sales garage, and after numerous threats, he is eventually confronted by two debt-collectors who cause damage to a number of his cars. At the same time, Martine (Saffron Burrows) arrives telling Terry that she has a job for him; a plan that needs putting into motion. Terry gathers a bunch of petty-criminal friends to help execute the plan that involves robbing a bank on Baker Street, London. What they don't know is that Martine is setting them up on behalf of MI5, who want the contents of a safe deposit box within the bank.

This safe deposit box contains compromising photos of a female member of the British Royal Family (identified in the film as Princess Margaret). The photos are in a box belonging to a black militant under the name of Michael X; he uses the photos to avoid trouble with MI5, who will do anything to avoid the photos going into circulation. Terry and his criminals purchase a shop two lots away from the bank and start digging a tunnel underneath the middle shop (a chicken fast-food restaurant) to reach the floor of the bank vault. During construction, it is revealed that the house is being watched by two MI5 officers, making sure that the bank-robbers are uninterrupted in doing their dirty work for them. However, vibrations from jackhammers arouse suspicion amongst the inhabitants of the middle building. This eventually leads to a policeman coming to the building whose basement the crooks are building a tunnel from. Terry is able to convince the policeman that all is well, and he leaves. Terry, however, is still worried, and employs a "watchman" to sit on the roof of the building opposite and keep a look out for further trouble.