Maybe,
stealing cars fascinates us as yet another aspect of life we pray never
to face. Maybe, the thrill of being bad and getting away with it, as
long as nobody gets hurt of course, adds a refreshing curiosity to the
mix, but once Gone in 60 Seconds exposes the tricks of the trade and ten cars are stolen,
we revert back to just not caring.
Since Top Gun, producer Jerry
Bruckheimer has spoiled us into expecting movies with a seamless blend
of high-powered action and characters with great personal challenges.
For those successes, we are inclined to forgive Mr. Bruckheimer for this
miss, but we can’t help wondering just which aspect of Gone in 60
Seconds made anyone involved with this production think that it
would result in a great movie.
To get over the fact that this is a story
about a bunch of criminals, even if they have cleaned up their act and
are forced to be bad just once more for a good cause, the characters
demanded emotional and psychological depth and significant
relationships. A reformed car thief who must steal 50 cars to save his
younger brother’s life after he failed to make good on the deal just
doesn’t cut it. Even if the big brother is the legendary Memphis
Raines (Nicolas Cage) who walked away from the bad life before doing any
real damage, we find no significant connection or emotion between the
brothers. They are supposed to be interesting because they can steal
cars like no one else, but even the cars they steal show more
personality.
When beautiful Sway (Angelina Jolie)
joins the crowd heavy on romantic history with Memphis, our hopes are
raised and then dashed in far less than 60 seconds. She must have been
thrown in this mix for that "cool" touch only a
"blond" (heavily bleached) chick with electrifying attitude
and smooth moves can produce. Unfortunately, her sparks with Memphis don’t
even ignite, yet alone fly. Cage’s and Jolie’s significant acting
power is sadly wasted in scenes that are supposed to be romantic, but
end up being subordinated to yet another car stunt.
As if it weren’t enough to misdirect
the awesome talents of the leading stars, we are presented with an
entire echelon of wonderful actors playing undeveloped characters.
Giovanni Ribisi is merely given the chance to look droopy as the
incompetent younger brother Kip. Delroy Lindo adds pressure as a feisty
detective only to be changed in the all too familiar cliché of a
suddenly forgiving cop. Robert Duvall adds spice as the colorful, but
dimensionless car restorer, and Will Patton as Atley Jackson feels sorry
for himself one minute and engages in flaccid heroism the next.
A few moments of excellence presented
themselves in the expected car chases. Racing in a classic, fully
restored and tricked out vintage Shelby Mustang, Memphis eludes a small
army of black and whites and a helicopter. This, however, isn’t nearly
enough to make the film memorable nor great.
