Laakbaar
This is a light, happy-go-lucky movie set mostly on Nassau in the Bahamas. Meet Max and Lola, two diamond thieves who have retired to this idyllic location to spend their loot. The problem is Stan, a shambolic, rather wild-eyed FBI agent who has been outwitted by them for years. Not content with letting them enjoy their retirement, he shows up on their (beachfront) doorstep and proceeds to lure them into another big heist. Lola's content with watching sunsets, but Max still has the bug. Will he take the bait? Complications arise because of the involvement of two locals: beautiful cop Sophie and bad guy Henri Mooré.This movie was enjoyable enough as summer television-like movie, but it doesn't go much deeper than that. There's not a lot of realism and art here. It was like a television movie.I don't know what makes television movies different from regular movies. Is it the writing? The plot development? The acting? They have a certain cliché nature, don't they? At times this movie definitely had the cheesiness and artificiality of television shows like the Love Boat and To Catch a Thief. That's not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of people love that kind of thing. It's not too demanding. And it's fun. People were laughing.I suppose part of the problem for me was, well, Pierce Brosnan and Woody Harrelson. I just couldn't see these two with Salma Hayek and Naomie Harris, respectively. Isn't the age difference a little too much? Is it wrong for me to point out that -- unlike the women they were with -- these two were (by 2004) no longer hot enough to generate heat in their love scenes? I have seen these two actors deliver outstanding performances. They are strong enough to pull off a film like this in their sleep. However, I am just not interested in them enough to spend two hours watching their buddy antics (drinking, fishing, even in bed). They are not lovable fun characters to me, although I think that's the effect the director was trying to achieve. These scenes were too forced. I saw no buddy chemistry.There was a good deal of wise-cracking (eg "I knew that when I married you. I knew that when I divorced you!") and slapstick (eg Stan gets hit in the head by a trombone.) The scuba scenes and the cruise ship scenes at the end were not believable, not that I think this movie's intended audience would care about that. It's all meant to be part of the fun.The person I was with walked out of the film halfway through. I thought it was OK. I mean, I didn't hate it.
Neil Welch
Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek are diamond thieves, given to involved schemes for pinching extremely live diamonds. Having made a fool of Woody Harrelson's uptight FBI agent, they retire to a tropical island. Harrelson pursues them, and it turns out that another huge diamond happens to be on a luxury liner which is moored nearby for a week....This is unsurprising but enjoyable entertainment, with a couple of fun heists, exotic scenery, decent chemistry between Brosnan and Harrelson, some fun moments in the script, and Salma Hayek prancing about in a small bikini from time to time.There is no vast reason to recommend this movie, but it is a more than adequate time-passer.
fred-kolb
Although the James Bond movie franchise is among the most successful and popular ones ever, playing the title role doesn't automatically guarantee future success in other projects. Except Sean Connery, who made several huge hits and won an Oscar in 1988, none of the other actors ever managed to make an impact in the film industry again. George Lazenby. Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton all made appearances in small and obscure films, but ultimately they were never really heard of again. And now, it's Pierce Brosnan's turn to show that he is a good enough actor to leave the typecasting of the James Bond role, and appear in projects that appeal to the audience, and challenge him as a performer.While this is certainly not a film that requires a lot of acting from any of its actors, Pierce Brosnan turns his image around by 180 degrees, playing someone on the other side of the law, with a shabby beard and an addiction for stealing high-priced jewels. Silly and ridiculous at times, "After the Sunset" is nonetheless an entertaining heist flick, with one or the other surprise.Max and Lola Burdett are among the most successful jewel thieves the world has ever seen and for years they have been stealing some of the most valuable diamonds. After a really big heist, where they steal the diamond directly out of the car of FBI agent Stan Lloyd whom they put to sleep, the couple decides to retire and moves to the Bahamas. But eventually Lloyd shows up, convinced that Max is planning to steal the famous Napoleon III diamond from an exhibit on a ship that is docked in Nassau for three weeks. Max swears to Lola that he has no intention to steal the diamond, but she is reluctant to believe him, especially since he hasn't written his wedding vows yet, something he promised to do months ago already. After paying the exhibit the visit, Max is introduced to Henri Moore, one of the greatest criminals on the island, who needs the diamond to finance his so-called "humanitarian program". But Moore already has local policewoman Sophie after her, who teams up with Lloyd, to get her the attention of her superiors, to regain Lloyd's reputation, and to bring Burdett behind bars.Brett Ratner, who already directed the successful action-comedy film "Rush Hour" with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, makes another film in that genre, but this time can't seem to find the right balance between the two. Although I did laugh maybe half a dozen times, this is not really a film that aims for laughs, but on the other hand doesn't have enough action to compensate for the lack of them. So, this film is not exactly a great representative of its kind, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it. Maybe it's the fact that this film could have easily been used as a promotional movie for tourism on the Bahamas and its all there, the alcoholic beverages, the white beaches, the tropical vegetation, and in the middle two fugitives appreciating a luxurious lifestyle. I doubt there is a better way to promote a career being a criminal rather than one in law enforcement, and although the entire premise is completely ludicrous, it's certainly not the first time the people on the wrong side of the law get to spend more money in a day than a federal agent gets on his paycheck for ten years. But the relationship between Agent Lloyd and Max Burdett, who are playing somewhat of a cat and mouse game, is funny and while I had a hard time believing that Lloyd is trying to arrest Max, it's absolutely hilarious how Max tries to bribe him into leaving him alone, like paying for the famous bridge suite in the Atlantis Hotel.Probably the best thing about this film is its array of usual suspects in unusual roles, all ahead of course Pierce Brosnan, who throws off the gentleman image that comes with playing James Bond. Leaving his shirts half unbuttoned and wearing a shabby gray beard, he is a lot of fun in this movie, and it's good to see him taking on some roles completely different than what he did before. Salma Hayek, who is thirteen years younger than Brosnan, looks incredibly hot and sexy in this film, and for the entire film I had absolutely no clue what took Max so long to write his wedding vows, considering he would be married to such a gorgeous woman. Woody Harrelson plays Agent Stan Lloyd, a colorful and instantly sympathetic character, and although nobody would probably want him to succeed to arrest Max and Lola, one can't help but feel sorry for him when he constantly laments about how the two make him look like a clown in front of his superiors, and especially, members of the opposite sex. Naomie Harris is a lot of fun as the native Bahamian cop, who has no problem proving her point to the people with a little more violence than necessary. And then there's Don Cheadle as a humanitarian island gangster boss, who is hilarious in his role, but unfortunately completely underused and rarely on screen.So, while "After the Sunset" might not be the biggest catch out there, it is quite a bit of fun, and not a complete waste of time. The actors take their roles with a lot of humor, and especially Brosnan, Harrelson, and for the five minutes he's in this film, Don Cheadle are absolutely hilarious to watch. Salma Hayek and Naomie Harris are both adorable, and the latter makes a good figure as the no-nonsense cop. If the money is short, or you can't get away from work, this film will have to do as a replacement for a vacation, and after sipping a margarita or two, you will totally have the island atmosphere in your home. Or at least almost.
