James
Bond is back, only this time he isn't 007 but Robert Mac MacDougal--art thief
extraordinaire. Sean Connery plays Mac, a thief who has been in the business for
a very long time. He teams up with the fiery Catherine Zeta-Jones (Mask of Zorro)
for the ultimate heist.
This
film is full of the usual twists that go along with a film of this nature. Director
Jon Amiel (Sommersby, Copycat) also allows room for the typical romance despite
the huge age difference between the leads (a generation gap even wider than Clint
Eastwood and Rene Russo in In the Line of Fire). I guess love has no boundaries
in film; however, the problem is that there aren't alot of sparks.
Zeta-Jones
is stunning to look at, but her performance is quite lackluster. It's hard to
take her seriously in this role, but much of the blame should go to Ron Bass'
(Rain Man, Apollo 13) limp screenplay. Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction, Mission: Impossible)
is also along for the ride as a man with a hidden agenda. But in Entrapment, his
talent is virtually wasted and he isn't in the film long enough to be effective.
The
ace in Entrapment's hole is Connery. He makes a compelling character out of Mac--a
pro who is coming to the end of his career. With terrific facial expressions and
a lot of heart, Connery adds depth to this character that couldn't have been written.
He alone almost makes the film worth recommending.
Unfortunately,
Entrapment is a film that attempts to be smarter than it actually is. Director
Amiel and screenwriter Bass should have abandoned this material and made an exciting
film about Mac's past.
