# Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)

### reviewed by
Chuck Dowling

    Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
    Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.0 stars

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi, Angelina Jolie, Robert Duvall, T.J. Cross, William Lee Scott, Scott Caan, James Duval, Will Patton, Delroy Lindo, Timothy Olyphant, Chi McBride, Christopher Eccleston, Vinnie Jones, Grace Zabriskie, Arye Gross Written by: Scott Rosenberg Directed by: Dominic Sena Running Time: 117 minutes Screening Theater: Starnet Pablo 9 Theaters - Jacksonville Beach, FL

Director Dominic Sena (who made the highly underrated Kalifornia) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer (The Rock, Armageddon) bring us a slick and entertaining remake of the 1974 film of the same name that absolutely no one has ever seen.

Nicolas Cage plays Memphis, a retired car thief who's "pulled back in" to the business by an evil car thief overlord (Christopher Eccleston) determined to kill Memphis' kid brother (Giovanni Ribisi). Memphis is ordered to steal 50 cars in four days time or his brother will meet an unfortunate demise, all while having to elude the detectives hot on his trail and a rival car thief who feels the job should have been given to him and his gang. Memphis sets out to put his old crew back together, but discovers that most of them have retired as well.

Gone in Sixty Seconds does things right from the opening credits. In that sequence, we get a rockin' little tune from Moby, along with some simple back story told only with photographs and assorted objects. Filmmakers can sometimes make or break a film just from its opening title sequence, and this one easily gets you in the mindset for an entertaining ride. And what follows doesn't disappoint...

Cage turns in one of his good performances here (he can easily go either way... good or bad... I don't know how he does that), and his mannerisms and dialogue delivery carry the film along nicely. Of the supporting cast members, Angelina Jolie as Memphis' former love is in the film just to provide eye candy (she's definitely the hottest looking grease monkey I've ever seen) and Robert Duvall as Memphis' former mentor is just around to lend the film some class. Also, I'm a big fan of Will Patton (Armageddon, The Postman) and would love to see him get a huge role someday. None of these three performers are given much to do unfortunately.

Some underrated performers however are given meaty supporting roles. Delroy Lindo (Get Shorty) shines as the exasperated detective in pursuit of Memphis, as does Timothy Olyphant (Go) as Lindo's partner. I just wish some of the other characters could have been as important.

The only real gripe I have about the film though is its conclusion... mainly because you know how it will end before the opening credits even roll. There's no doubt in anyone's mind that the 50 cars will be successfully stolen, and the filmmakers blew a perfectly good opportunity to add some suspense to the picture by using the "rival car thief" plot line. As it stands, that story line is wrapped up about halfway through the film in a tidy little package. But if I was making this film, I'd have had the rival gang trying to get to the cars before Memphis and his crew, thereby making Memphis have to improvise... thereby adding some meat to the plot.

The finale is essentially just a big car chase, and there just aren't ways to make car chases interesting anymore. It's all been done. The chase is also shot and edited in that "Jerry Bruckheimer Action Sequence" kind of way that leaves the audience wondering what specifically is going on in the scene. Sure it's a car chase, but what exactly are the particulars of it? It's very hard to tell. Finally, there's a stunt during this scene that comes close to challenging the "bus jumping the ramp" sequence from Speed in the "Oh, I don't think so..." department.

Despite those minor complaints, Gone in Sixty Seconds is pure summer movie entertainment. It's not thought provoking, but it's shiny, loud and fun... just what a summer flick should be. [PG-13]

Reviewed by Chuck Dowling - chuckd21@fdn.com AOL Instant Messenger: FilmJax The Jacksonville Film Journal - http://www.jaxfilmjournal.com/

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