A film review by Mark O'Hara Copyright © 1999 Mark O'Hara

As I watched "Entrapment" I found myself wondering if Sean Connery could estimate the quality of a script he was shooting.

If he can, he surely realized this one was mediocre.

It's the story of Robert MacDougal (Sean Connery), called "Mac." He's a world-class art thief, and the insurance company that covers the stolen works is very upset. Waverly Insurance employs an expert, Gin Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones) to analyze his methods. Overzealous, Gin is granted permission actually to track down Mac, in London. The old and wily thief is soon on to her, but she convinces Mac she is a sort of double agent, a thief herself only posing as an expert in solving crimes by dismantling them. Soon she and Mac land at his remote castle on the coast of Britain, where they rehearse the methodology of this particular crime - the stealing of a golden Chinese mask. With daring skill they break into an enormous manor, and Gin begins her practiced body movements to elude the lasers that would trip the alarm. Watch these scenes for Zeta-Jones doing her martial arts of elusiveness, bending and twisting along what seems to be an open floor.

After this caper is successful, the control of the criminal duo shifts. Now Gin seems to be the one manipulating "Mac," and as they travel to Malaysia to engineer the scheme she has created, a romance clearly begins to develop. The climax of the film is a high-tech bank heist on the crack of the new millenium, and indeed the high points of the story include the actual robberies I've described.

But there are too many low points for the film to take its place as anything more than a minor espionage flick. Connery is a masterful actor, and Zeta-Jones holds her own opposite him, except during occasional bouts of adolescent anger. What these players are working with is not enough help. The cuts are often too fast, and director Jon Amiel does not allow adequate time for the development either of character or of meaningful relationships. Will Patton is miscast as the honcho from Waverly insurance: he's given a darkened mustache and Hispanic name, Hector Cruz. Ving Rhames sketches his character - Thibadeaux, apparently a right-hand man for Mac - with authority and menace, a performance that is effective but perhaps too easy for the physically imposing actor. (Someone, please cast this wonderful presence against type!) The film does benefit from changes in scenery, its international locales lending variety and at times stunning beauty. But are these elements enough to salvage a film that tries to draw its strength from the oldest tricks in the spy/thief genre? And yes, we know early what's in store for us - as many turnabouts of identity as can be packed into a plot, some of them downright red herrings.

"Entrapment," a solid one-word title, is passable entertainment, but I would suggest seeing it as we did, in a second-run theater. You'll like the gadgets and the figurative meanings that reflect about the screen like deflected lasers. But you'll also sense the places responsible for mediocrity.

	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.