A movie review by Johnathan Pritchett Copyright © 1999 Johnathan Pritchett

Well, 'Entrapment' was pretty darn good, I'd say. I thought it was actually a throw back to some of the eighties style adventure movies that are exciting, shallow, and funny. At least, it had that kind of feel to it. Which to me was a bit refreshing. I love those kind of movies. The best part about it was all the 16-30 year old women packed in there just because of Connery. What is it about that guy? I do know I hope women find me that attractive at his age. There was also a lot of us guys there as well. While the ladies think we were there to see Catherine Zeta-Jones, we were actually there because we knew that they would be there watching Connery. When us guys would get ignored; we'd just look at the screen and watch Zeta-Jones, who blows out any girl sitting in the theater anyway. So it was a win-win for everyone. But, if you want to go to a movie to find girls, or you girls are looking for some guys, 'Entrapment' is the place to be. For the record, I didn't get any girl's number...Damn it.

Anyway, on to the movie. The film is about Gin Baker (Zeta-Jones) and Robert MacDougal (Connery). Baker works for an insurance agency who persuades her superiors to let her catch MacDougal in the act. However, not all is as it may seem, blah, blah, blah. So what we have is an entertaining film that shows off the two lead's sexual marketability, and that it involves stealing. Catchy. Anyway, Connery and Zeta-Jones give fine performances that are both engaging and somewhat stock. That is fine though because their chemistry works for the film. Also, it isn't like were dealing with heavy material. It is just a fun adventure movie. The story is set up so that, despite some people's non-understanding or tolerance of 60ish year old men and 25ish year old women falling for each other, the romance works and is completely believable.

Directed by Jon Amiel, the film shows off some spectacular sequences during the different capers our leads pull off. The pace is good and the movie never becomes redundant or as easily predictable as one would imagine. It is a bit slow at times, but that is only if you don't like watching Zeta-Jones, or in the case of you women, Connery. I, for one, can stare at a screen with Catherine Zeta-Jones reading articles from Forbes magazine and be completely happy. But that is just me. Anyway, compared to his other films, Amiel is definitely in top form with this kind of material. He delivered the goods on the action sequences. While not shoot 'em up style, we do feel the tenacity and danger of our leads as they move from one obstacle to the next during their capers.

The script by Ronald Bass and Michael Hertzberg was quite good. It was funny, exciting, and had enough twists to compensate for the simple premise. It did however lack in the Zeta-Jones wearing tight leather department. There never could've been enough of that. A butt shot during the swimming scene thrown in for good measure would've been nice also. Oh well, pretty tight and well written other than that. Actually, it was a smarter script than I was expecting. The only problem was that some of the humor and plot twists seemed a little forced, but that doesn't matter with this type of film.

I will say that the standard of production seemed to be very high. Things like the set, the camera usage, the performances, the score, and the props were all carefully crafted. Everything either looked or sounded good. Ving Rhames and Will Patton both did great jobs in the film. The rest of the supporting cast did fine, but forgettable jobs.

If you are in the mood for fun, light-hearted entertainment, then 'Entrapment' is the film to see. Interesting, but not heavy, action filled, but not violent, and finally, sexy, but no sex. A bit refreshing in its own way, but I don't think we need to much of it.

Grade: Cool

	Running Time: 112 Min | Rated PG-13 | US Release: April 30th | More >>

Related 'Entrapment' Links:

• Official Site
• Final Cut: Entrapment
• Bomis: Entrapment Ring
• EVERYDAY JUNK - Entrapment

The trap is set.