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"Long
'Gone'"
by Scott Mantz
"Gone in 60 Seconds"
Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie
Directed by Dominic Sena
What would some
of Hollywood's greatest hits be without some of the most exciting
car chases to ever grace the big screen? Those that immediately
come to mind are Gene Hackman's now legendary pursuit of an el-bound
crook in "The French Connection," Robert DeNiro's adventure on the
French freeways in the under-appreciated "Ronin," and, of course,
the police car pile-ups that made "The Blue Brothers" such a hoot.
The omission of any scene from the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced "Gone
in 60 Seconds" is no accident. For a film that had such a high octane
trailer, pumped up A-list Oscar winners, and even a name like "Gone
in 60 Seconds," the finished product turns out to be more like a
lemon than a turbo-charged classic. Director Dominic Sena should
get a ticket for leaving his movie idle in a no parking zone when
he should have been breaking the speed limits on the freeways of
LA.
When it comes
to stealing cars, nobody does it better than Randall "Memphis" Raines
(Nicolas Cage). He was so good, that when he left town to clean
up his act, car theft in LA fell by 47%. Following in his brother's
footsteps gets Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) into trouble with Raymond Calitri
(Christopher Eccleston), the evil head of a stolen car operation,
and Memphis is made an offer he can't refuse. He has four days to
steal 50 cars, or Kip will be, well, "gone in 60 seconds." Memphis
calls upon his old gang for help, including auto repairman Otto
Halliwell (Robert Duvall), former girlfriend Sara Wayland (Angelina
Jolie, who's nickname is "Sway"--get it?), and driving instructor
Donny Astricky (Chi McBride). Hot on his tail are LAPD Detective
Roland Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and rival car thief Johnny B (Master
P). With the clock ticking and the cops breathing down his neck,
Memphis has quite a few obstacles to overcome if he is going to
pull off the heist and save Kip's--and his own--life.
A remake of
the cult classic from the mid-70's, "Gone in 60 Seconds" has all
the elements that would normally fit with producer Jerry Bruckheimer's
flashy style--good-looking stars, great action sequences, and lots
of humor. Along with the late Don Simpson, his former live-fast-die-young
producing partner, Bruckheimer spearheaded some of the greatest
popcorn flicks to ever come off the Hollywood assembly line during
the 80's and 90's. Films like "Beverly Hills Cop," "Top Gun," and
"Crimson Tide" may have put an emphasis on intensity and thrills,
but they still had enough character development to support the action.
As cartoonish and contrived as that may have been, it still fit
perfectly with the mood of the film.
This is one
vehicle that takes far too long to warm up and get going. When it
finally does, director Dominic Sena tries so hard to be the second
coming of fellow Bruckheimer colleague Michael Bay, that his overly
excessive editing technique keeps you from feeling the full effect
of what the film is striving to be. Cage goes about recruiting his
old theft-mates in a way that recalls John Belushi in "The Blues
Brothers," with Cage making you think he was getting the band back
together (I kept waiting for him to say "we're on a mission from
God").
The film sputters
along like an old car badly in need of a new catalytic converter,
and various subplots are introduced but never fleshed out. There's
some contrived tension between former lovers Cage and Jolie, but
we never learn the story behind the music. As if evading the cops
wasn't bad enough, Cage also has to deal with an embittered car
thief played by Master P. Instead of adding strength to the backbone
of the film, this subplot acts more like a distraction to flesh
out an already ridiculous premise. We're constantly reminded of
how much time Cage has left when a clock appears at the bottom of
the screen, but the only thing your left counting down is how long
until the movie is over.
Nicolas Cage,
who also appeared in Bruckheimer's "The Rock" and "Con Air," once
again turns his back on the artistic credibility he gained with
his Oscar-winning performance in "Leaving Las Vegas." He's obviously
the centerpiece of the film, but his performance takes a pit stop
at the expense of shoddy dialogue ("What's better--having sex, or
stealing cars?") and missed opportunities (only one so-so car chase).
Angelina Jolie's role as Cage's one-dimensional ex-girlfriend is
easier to forgive, since she made the movie before she won an Oscar
for her performance in "Girl, Interrupted." Other than looking like
the sexy vamp that she is, about the only decent outcome of her
presence is yet another cool hairstyle to add to her impressive
resume. Otherwise, she has nothing to do.
The powerful
Delroy Lindo is wasted in a role that makes him look like one of
the Keystone Cops, putting him in a finale that could have been
lifted straight out of "The Fugitive." Christopher Eccleston tries
to lend some credibility to his role as the evil bad guy, but his
relegation to the beginning and end of the film downplays what could
have been an otherwise juicy role. Rounding out the cast is Giovanni
Ribisi as Cage's bizarre kid bother (inspired casting), Will Patton
as one of Cage's former buddies, and Robert Duvall as an older version
of the character he played in "Days of Thunder."
You can file
"Gone in 60 Seconds" under "movies that don't live up to the promise
of it's awesome trailer." The film is like a Delorean--it looks
good, but there's nothing underneath the hood. The car chase towards
the end of the movie may provide for some excitement, but by then
you've already given up on the rest of the film. As long as Nicolas
Cage subjects himself to this type of meaningless trash, then the
only thing that will end up gone in 60 seconds is his career as
a serious actor.
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