After the Sunset Review
by Harvey S. Karten (harveycritic AT cs DOT com)November 11th, 2004
AFTER THE SUNSET
Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
New Line Cinema
Grade: B-
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Written by: Paul Zbyszewski from his story
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson, Don
Cheadle
Screened at: Loews E-Walk, NYC, 11/6/04
Jules Dassin's "Topkapi" is still the classic caper movie involving jewel thieves. The 1964 film which stars Melina Mercouri and Peter Ustinov is a first-rate product about would- be thieves who plan the perfect crime in Istanbul, one which was filmed on location and gave rise to several imitators. "After the Sunset" is one such imitator, revolving around a two-person operation, played by Pierre Brosnan as Maxwell Burdett and Salma Hayek as his girlfriend Lola Cirillo. What makes this different from most pics of the genre is that while there is considerable chemistry between the sexy Lola and the dashing Max, director Brett Ratner's emphasis is on the relationship between two males: Max and his friendly nemisis, FBI agent Stan Lloyd (Woody Harrelson). While some films about police, such as Sidney Lumet's "Serpico," explore the relationships between undercover cops and the gang members they're out to bust, "After the Sunset" makes us believe that Agent Lloyd, who like a modern Javert has been chasing after his prey for seven years, is patronized by the thief. Among the benefits of the government job is getting set up in a hotel suite in Paradise Island in the Bahamas complete with two masseuses "I'll do your back! I'll do your front!") without having to fork over a large percentage of his FBI check for these privileges. All is paid for by the man he's chasing.
While Max insists that he is now retired ("When you live the life that I lead, you'll see why I have no reason to steal") and his girlfriend, Lola, pressures him to get out of the game "Quit while you're at the height of your powers"), Max is not entirely content living the soft life in paradise. While he's rich enough to spend the next forty years on the island, having stolen two so-called Napoleon diamonds, like many retirees he cannot simply sit on his duff. He's tired of the nightly lobster and of bourgeois American businessmen who sit at his table to yak to him about their travels and careers. He's got to get back in the game: the challenge is to steal the third Napoleon diamond, worth at least $30 million, sitting with apparent safety inside with sensors and 24-hour guards within a cruise ship bound for Paris. Once the jewel is stolen, he would presumably fence it with the head of the island's organized crime family (Don Cheadle).
If we're going to compare this to Jules Dassin's masterwork, "After the Sunset" has to come up short, if for no other reason than that heist films with twists have been done many times before. Yet there seems to be no end to the interest the public has in the subgenre–Steven Soderberg, for example, is about to release the sequel to his "Ocean's 11" with "Ocean's Twelve," also presumably about a casino heist despite the negative criticism from some writers who found the first production "lifeless." Pierre Brosnan brings his good looks, his three-day beard and his charming personality to give life to this picture, though, and while the busy Don Cheadle is underutilized as the poetry-spouting gangster, Salma Hayak looks awfully good.
Rated PG-13.. © 2004 by Harvey Karten
@harveycritic.com
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
