Edward Norton has claimed that his participation in “The Italian Job” is not by choice, but rather the result of contractual obligation. If this is true, this is the single best disclaimer he can provide for his career. Award a star for knowing the star of this film doesn’t really want to be there, and truthfully, I can see why. I didn’t want to be there, either.

“The Italian Job” begins in Italy, where Charlie (Mark Wahlberg) and his gang of fellow thieves, including Steve (Norton) and an aging pro, John (Donald Sutherland) rip off $35 billion in gold bullion.

After a risky getaway, the group convenes where Steve, obviously a bad guy due to his fake mustache (making him a prime candidate for a Cesar Romero look-alike contest), leaves the gang for dead and takes off with the gold.

Bent on revenge, Charlie and John’s daughter, Stella (Charlize Theron) track down Steve, now in disguise with a thicker handlebar mustache. The group plans to steal the gold back by unnecessarily creating the largest traffic jam in Los Angeles history — not only to provide an obvious chase sequence involving three Mini Coopers, but to also provide the most gratuitous product endorsement in movie history.

“The Italian Job” is a remake of the 1969 original starring Michael Caine. Other than the gold, the film steals from just about any caper film of the last ten years.

The only thing “The Italian Job” really has to offer is lame Napster jokes (referring to our token computer geek, played by Seth Green, who claims he invented it) and a decent car chase.

The film’s biggest problems are the stale performances. Wahlberg seems like he’s performing an infomercial while Theron hams it up in an emotionless role, simply there for the tease of T&A.

Norton is in a league of his own in a role that seems to be written for Lee Marvin. He overplays his villain to melodramatic proportions, leaving little room for believability and making his role have the screen presence of a Ritz cracker. Marvin would have been great in the role because actually looked like a tough guy. Norton looks like a vacuum salesman.

If it were taken out of the hands of someone who wasn’t trying to make a stylized music video, “The Italian Job” could have been something better. Instead, it finds a comfortable spot among numerous films where great ideas are executed with dismal results.