"The Italian Job," a 1969 comic caper about a cunning plan to steal a gold shipment from the streets of Turin, gets translated into a muscular present-day actioner under the assured direction of F. Gary Gray. If the first film was big on quirky charm and heart -- it starred Michael Caine, Noel Coward and Benny Hill -- the new version opts for high-gloss style and forward momentum. Scripters Donna Powers and Wayne Powers borrow two story elements from the original and run with them: the idea of creating a traffic jam in order to pull off a heist and the crucial use of a fleet of three Mini Coopers as stunt characters par excellence.

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