filmcritic . com presents a review from staff member max messier . you can find the review with full credits at <a href= " http : //filmcritic . com/misc/emporium . nsf/2a460f93626cd4678625624c007f2b46/c6be01e76e80952f8825695b0003bddf ? opendocument " >http : //filmcritic . com/misc/emporium . nsf/2a460f93626cd4678625624c007f2b46/c6be01e76e80952f8825695b0003bddf ? opendocument</a> the american fascination with personal surveillance and voyeurism has reached a new and strange level . tv shows such as survivor , big brother - and movies such as enemy of the state and the blair witch project have raised the bar for compulsive interest in other peoples' lives . it is as if america has become a nation of stalkers and shut-ins locked away behind their television and computer screens . the new jaime foxx film bait is a prime example of how this sadistic , cultural phenomenon has been constructed into mainstream hollywood fodder for the masses . i didn't know what to expect of bait . from the media blitz in the past couple weeks , the movie looked like a weird hybrid of blue streak , enemy of the state , and hackers without angeline jolie ( dammit ! ) . the story follows foxx as an inept thief named alvin sanders who involuntarily helps federal agents track down an ultra-cool computer hacker -- doug hutchison ( that asshole guard percy wetmore from the green mile ) -- who has robbed the u . s . gold reserve with lackey robert pastorelli of 42 million dollars . the lackey takes off with the gold , buries it in secret place , and ends up being arrested on a dwi , all on the same night . busy guy . the lackey then lands in the same cell as alvin sanders ( foxx ) who has been arrested for stealing shrimp - i mean prawns - from a brooklyn fish plant . the lackey , who has terrible heart problems , confides in alvin to tell his wife of a secret code of the location of the buried gold . the lackey dies during an interrogation by a big and mean federal agent played by david morse , and both the hacker and the feds are left with no leads… except alvin . the feds then secretly plant a tracking device under alvin's jawbone and use him for… you guessed , it . . . bait to lure out the hacker . humorous dialogue , uncomfortable dramatic moments , and loud car chase scenes follow . bait is reminiscent of many of its numerous contemporaries , but it is able to maintain a sense of direction under the cool hand of director antoine fuqua . known mainly for music videos and the replacement killers , fuqua is no hype williams , but he can move the camera like malick and capture action scenes like peckinpah . foxx is always a surprise to watch as an actor , because he can come off as a chump one minute and a serious actor the next . morse is a perfect straight man to foxx's inane attempts to return to respectability . but the most interesting character is hutchinson's hacker , who comes across as faceless while holding a cold control over nature , like a predator stalking his prey . bait is a solid action movie despite a weird pace to the film . one minute foxx is joking around about being a player , the next minute he is committing to his girl and a new baby boy . the movie has been sold to public as an " action-comedy " but in reality - the film is tinged with dark moments of cold-blooded murder and orwellian themes of surveillance and control . in other words , this ain't no big momma's house . director : antoine fuqua starring : jamie foxx , david morse , david paymer , kirk acevedo , doug hutchison , robert pastorelli producers : sean ryerson writers : andrew scheinman , adam scheinman , tony gilroy 
