In the epic, often contentious history of cinema, there are movies, and there are films.
Movies aren't anything spectacular; they don't cause revolutions in the industry and they sometimes pander, Jerry Bruckheimer-style, to the baser causes of entertainment and enjoyment rather than to high art. Hollywood makes lots of great — and a fair number of bad — movies.
Films are more often the subject of high reviews and high critical praise. They are sometimes, well, let's admit it, terribly dull and painfully artsy. If you can avoid sleeping through them, they cast the human dilemma in a new light and contribute to a higher artistic cause. Independent studios make lots of great — and a fair number of bad — films.
"After the Sunset," the new Brett Ratner movie, is an average, but not spectacular, movie.
It's got all the movie elements to it; fast cars, exotic women and locales and heaping spoonfuls of danger, romance and raw humor.
The premise is like hearing the same old joke all over again; Max Burdett (Pierce Brosnan), a retired thief, grows weary of the good life after he gets away from his last gig — the theft of the second of three famous Napoleon diamonds. When his lackadaisical retirement lifestyle is shattered by the appearance of the vengeful Stan Lloyd (Woody Harrelson), he is tempted against the wiser entreaties of his fiancée, Lola Cirillo (Salma Hayek), into trying to pull off the one last gig and ensnare the third diamond.
The flick is spiced up with ample shots of Hayek's cleavage to bring in the male "I-can-finally-see-a-movie-without-my-parents" crowd and plenty of shots of Brosnan gazing off into the sunset to bring in the female audience.
The high points of the movie are the reserved buddy-comedy duo of Brosnan and Harrelson as the criminal and cop who play a disguised game of cat-and-mouse, the performance of Sophie (Naomie Harris) as the local cop who is chained to procedure, and the narcissistic sociopath Henri Moreé (Don Cheadle).
Brosnan and Harrelson's spy-versus-spy act in particular is warmly endearing, before the film's downsides — the Silly Putty-plot and lukewarm cinematography — tear it to shreds.
The fault of the plot, which is mostly to blame for the film's sickly sweet feeling, falls squarely on the lap of first-time film writer Paul Zbyszewski, who last scripted episodes of NBC's "The Weakest Link." It's a good first entry into the business, but nothing to write home about.
However, the cinematography isn't too disappointing for Ratner, who also directed the moderately suspenseful 2002 Hannibal Lechter thriller "Red Dragon," and the mildly entertaining 1998 Jackie Chan movie "Rush Hour."
When all is said and done, including the ever-so-dull knife twist at the end of the film, it's like riding the kiddy roller coaster at 21; a few bumps, maybe a little churning feeling in the stomach, but above all else, the feeling that you're way too old for this.
Grade: C,”Brian O'Connor”
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