After The Sunset

For seven years, FBI agent Stan Lloyd (Woody Harrelson) has chased career jewel thieves and lovers Max Burdett (Pierce Brosnan) and Lola (Salma Hayek). After yet another of Max and Lola's heists makes a fool of Stan, they retire to a resort in the Bahamas. But old temptations beckon in the form of a diamond displayed on a cruise ship conveniently parked nearby. Enter that old plot stand-by about the crook who wants to pull off one last heist. How will this cat-and-mouse caper play out? Will there be one last heist? Will Max and Lola finally settle down after the sunsets? The more important question is will we ever care? Much of the blame can be placed on the script, a pale revision of Michael Mann's Heat that lacks its bite and cohesion at the best of times. Writer Paul Zbyszewski and director Brett Ratner (who, incidentally, is the mastermind behind the butchered Manhunter remake Red Dragon) seem more interested in showing off their characters in the throes of macho one-upmanship and gay jokes rather than figuring out how they might steal a diamond out from under Harrelson's nose. Should you watch the film, ask yourself two questions: is there really enough time to pull of what he eventually does, and how likely it is that a non-diving FBI agent would agree to come along with a couple of thieves on a midnight scuba expedition to an old wreck? Pointless. Those of you who have the stomach for it might wish to peruse the special features, which include a blooper reel, a "Before, during and After the Sunset" documentary (which is essentially a giant advertisement for the resort at which the entire movie was filmed) and deleted scenes. None of these, however, will make the movie anymore palatable. (Alliance Atlantis)