Entrapment

Whoa, this screenshot makes the movie look
WAY crazier than it actually is

By the late 90’s Sean Connery was starting to get old.  And what I mean by that is the way he moved on screen.  He had visibly looked like an old man at least since the early 80’s.  But what I’m talking about is his ability to convince you that he could pull off the action sequences in his films.  And in 1999 he seemed too old to make you think he could genuinely do the shit you see on camera.  He was never the most agile guy but miraculously he looked mostly capable in The Rock a few years earlier.  I honestly don’t know how to account for that (editing?  How he was shot?).  But anyway, why am I bringing this up?  Because Connery’s lack of believability adds a level of humor to Entrapment that makes for a better watch than would otherwise be the case.

This aging grandpa thief, Mac, pulling jobs off with the hot young up-and-comer, Gin (Catherine Zeta-Jones (The Phantom)), with the two sorta falling in love (more on that in a minute) isn’t charming or convincing.  But it sure is fun, ridiculous, kinda dumb and even a little funny (unintentionally however). 

Their escapades around the globe only increase in scope as the movie progresses.  Gin starts off by stealing a Rembrandt in a NYC high rise, then the two team up to steal a bejeweled mask in Scotland and finally they plan to nab eight billion dollars from a bank in Malaysia.  Of course the multi-billion dollar heist is the most spectacular by having it take place on the eve of the new millennium and in the largest building(s) in the world at the time, the Petronas Towers.  As I’m sure anyone can predict, things go sideways and the two thieves have to run all around the towers and evade a swat team in order to escape.

Even this screengrab supposes this thing
has more style than it really does

And throughout all of it Connery looks like a lost man that can’t quite keep up with what’s happening around him.  Make no mistake that the movie tries its hardest to assure you that Connery has still got the touch but that only makes his senior age more apparent.  Like when he drinks his scotch he does it in one big gulp or he’s able to disappear impossibly fast without anyone seeing or hearing him like Batman or some shit.  He couldn’t just be a wise old thief that gives guidance or whose physical abilities are minimized.  No, he had to be on top of his game, mentally as well as physically.  But I’m glad they didn’t scale Connery back because it looks so silly.  I kinda love it.

At least the filmmakers knew where to mostly draw the line when it came to getting romantically involved with Catherine Zeta-Jones.  Connery is thirty nine years older than Zeta-Jones (69 vs 30 at the time) and it very much shows.  So to curtail this plot point they have Gin fall in love with Mac and want to fuck him but Mac refuses.  You know, it’s pretty lame that they couldn’t just have a professional working relationship where they both respect and admire each other and the sexual tension is left out.  Not every action/adventure/thriller needs to have a romantic aspect.  This one definitely didn’t.

And before we get off the topic of sex the filmmakers do tend to ogle Zeta-Jones all throughout the picture.  There are two scenes of her lying totally naked in bed and there are those infamous shots of her ass as she does her laser-dodging routine.  Even Mac gives an audible “mmm” to himself as he watches.  They do not give Connery the same treatment by the way.  No camera is all over his ass in tight spandex. 

The actual heist sequences are amusing with plenty of outrageous crap that you pretty much have to accept or futilely fight against.  Yea they got implausible doohickeys for everything and their schemes to pinch the goods are either absurdly simple (it only takes twenty four hours to come up with and execute a plan to rob eight billion dollars) or absurdly complicated (moving blindly through a large room filled with dozens of invisible laser beams to steal a mask).

In terms of tone this is family friendly action adventure.  Even though Mac is an asshole to Gin half the time he’s got a heart of gold and Gin is eager to get involved and start stealing shit.  Body count is zero with almost no one getting injured.  Writing that last sentence seems odd because it doesn’t feel as light weight as that when you’re watching it.

There we go, that's more like it

Like the two main characters in the film Connery and Zeta-Jones were at the same respective points in their acting careers.  Entrapment was the third to last thing Connery did while this was the first starring feature for Zeta-Jones.  Now neither one does a particularly good job but surprisingly Zeta-Jones is the one that feels more off.  She plays it too perky and amateurish.  I thought she did fine in The Mask of Zorro the year before so I’m not sure what happened here.  She’s very giddy, whiny and borderline immature at times.  She does not convey the image of a larger than life master thief in the slightest.  But if you combine that with some other dumb aspects of the picture it becomes one more thing to marvel and laugh at.

I like this movie.  It has a sense of adventure which I dig, moreover the globetrotting, Connery himself and the scope of the robberies makes the film feel big which is definitely a plus in this case.  If you like your movies on the dumb side sometimes you’ll probably get a kick out of this.

Oh and in case you were wondering, entrapment never actually takes place in the film.  Everyone does what they want of their own accord and no one is tricked into committing an act they weren’t going to go through with anyway.

One more interesting thing of note, this is rated PG-13 but there are actually two “fucks” said here.  Both are uttered by Ving Rhames (ThePeople Under the Stairs) and that second one technically should’ve bumped this up to R.  Other than that this feels PG-13 all the way.