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Friday, 16 February 2007

Gone in 60 Seconds (DVD)

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Robert Duvall, Christopher Eccleston & That guy who played Phoebe's brother in Friends (Giovanni Ribisi).

Rated: 15

Story: Memphis Raines (Cage) is The Best Car Thief in the World Ever(TM) but has given it up for a saintly existence running a small garage and teaching children to go-kart. Unfortunately he's forced back to crime when his little brother Kip (Ribisi) messes up some thieving specially commissioned by Dr Who. In order to stop his brother being fed to a Dalek, Raines has to fulfil the contract in time, leaving him a day for angst, a day to get his crew together, a day to plan and only a single night to steal fifty cars. Even at a minute a car, this makes things quite tight...

Comments: The movie begins by posing a difficult moral dilemma: Is it OK to commit a crime (in this case, theft) in order to prevent an even greater crime (murder)? Unfortunately it almost immediately returns the answer: 'Heck, yeah! Now let's go outwit some cops, steal some cars and drive really fast to a climactic shoot-out.' Never mind that Raines is getting paid, enjoys stealing cars and he and his brother got into the mess through stealing cars in the first place - we're on their side. This is only reinforced when they manage to miraculously arrange that no police officer receives a scratch in the ensuing automotive carnage. Only the A-Team causes more chaos with less collateral damage to law enforcement.

Stars, thrills, high production values and incredible shallowness make this the definition of a typical Hollywood action film. Cage is as watchable as ever, most of the cast looks reassuringly familiar, everything moves at a decent pace and nothing will surprise you in the slightest. Vinnie Jones occasionally steals the show (and possibly forms the inspiration for the lead character of Saint's Row).

Good if you are partial to a decent car chase and don't mind a bit of blatant emotional manipulation. You probably won't remember any of it by a week on Wednesday though.

Explosions: Few
Cars: Many
Stunts: Plenty of driving, including an excellent final chase. (Not as good as that bit on the bridge near the start of Bad Boys 2 but at least you don't have to watch any of the rest of Bad Boys 2 to see it).

Rating: 3/5

If nothing else, this film helps you appreciate the depth of mid-life crisis Brad Pitt must have been going through in order to dump Jennifer Aniston in favour of Little Miss Tomb Raider...

Labels: action, film review, thriller