Entrapment Review
by "Roger Gerbig" (rgerbig AT thegrid DOT net)May 10th, 1999
ENTRAPMENT - a Thumbs For Sale! Review
w/ Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ving Rhames. Dir: Jon Amiel.
I admit it. Moments after deciding to make "Entrapment" the review of the week, I started having second thoughts. During the course of my standard pre-review research rigamarole, I uncovered a one-line summary that made this flick out to be little more than a warmed-over, higher-tech take on the old "Thomas Crown Affair" plot thingy.
To those of you unfamiliar with that 1968 Steve McQueen-Faye Dunaway classic, the plot goes something like this: a smart, rich guy who doesn't need to steal stuff, does so anyway because he enjoys it. Then, an incredibly attractive female insurance investigator sent by the executive goon squad to wring the Robin Hood out of him latches on to his mystique and promptly falls in love with him.
If that doesn't sound classic, trust me, it is; they're remaking it this summer with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. Look for it sometime in July, I think.
Fortunately, "Entrapment" isn't merely a "Thomas Crown" ripoff, though it definitely attempts to lay claim to being a "retro" thriller, much like last year's "Ronin." It makes a passable run at being sexy, suave, and intelligent. It goes through extraordinary lengths to take us to exotic locales and gives us a voyeuristic sneak peak inside equally exotic alternate career paths, like thievery.
If only we could have learned these skills in shop class. Wouldn't we be cool!
Unfortunately--especially for those of us harboring certain fears--things get off to a rocky start. The opening sequence involving the theft of a Rembrandt is passable, but not really anything we haven't seen before. Then, when folks start talking, things get kind of ugly.
Gin Baker (Zeta-Jones) is an insurance investigator who's apparently spent many a sleepless night tracking the exploits of master thief Robert "Mac" MacDougal (Connery), who, believe it or not, is the number one suspect in the Rembrandt theft. From the get-go it sounds like another classic case of "blame it on the icon."
So they do. Gin's boss, Cruz (Will Patton) agrees to let her go undercover Jane Bond-style to nab the talented geezer. But only after attempting to hit her up for a date, which for several reasons seriously creeped me out. First, Patton was runner up to Harrison Ford for Han Solo, a career pitfall that has certainly helped him get in touch with his bitter, angst-ridden side. Perfect for playing the creeps he often does. Secondly, the dialogue was so stilted, demeaning, and so clearly (in retrospect) added solely to fill in some potholes in the plot later on, that it made me wonder which snotty, spoiled cousin of the producer got to do the honors.
And the skanky dialogue continues. Gin and Mac's banter for the first painful 45 minutes (screen time) of their relationship is little more than veiled insults and "snappy" one-liners that fall flatter than a week-old glass of Coke. Add to this the fact that just about every line of dialogue looks dubbed (which is often the way it works in real movies, though usually you can't tell), and confidence drops dramatically.
Then something magical happens; this newly-forged dynamic duo successfully pulls off their first heist, and sets sail for a much bigger prize. Instantly, their incessant bickering at each other ends. Yup, the hate's turning to love, and the plot's charting a path from the obvious to, well, someplace a little more interesting than just plain obvious.
Looking at the mechanics, the acting's not bad, given the sometimes questionable material, though I thought Zeta-Jones had more presence in last summer's "Zorro." And while Connery is ever so deserving of his icon status, this flick more than proves that his presence doesn't automatically make a movie good. Everybody works for a living; even good old Sean.
Despite some problems in the script department, co-writer Ronald Bass continues to amaze me with his seemingly built-in versatility. With diverse credits such as "Rain Man", "What Dreams May Come " (an adaptation), and now this amongst scores of others, he's kind of like a magnifying glass that can fry ants in the dark of midnight. I've never heard of co-writer Michael Hertzberg, but rather than blame him for all the script's problems, I think I'll just note that I don't have a handy tool reference for him.
That's called playing nice.
True, you shouldn't have to wade through half a movie before it gets good, but although Zeta-Jones and Connery never generate much in the sparks department, I have to confess I found it all to be satisfying--at least like I'd find a can of soup satisfying. I say canned soup because you pick the flavor, and upon heating, it competently produces said flavor, without drawing too much attention to itself, or contending for any awards.
That's pretty much the story with "Entrapment," though remember, nobody's forcing you eat it.
***
© 1999 Roger Gerbig.
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