In a sentenceSean Connery looks so sure of the plan that we nearly forget to ask whether it makes sense
Virginia ‘Gin’ Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and master thief Robert ‘Mac’ MacDougal (Sean Connery) are at the centre of a robbery plot complicated by romance. Hector Cruz (Will Patton), Conrad Greene (Maury Chaykin) and Aaron Thibadeaux (Ving Rhames) are among the other figures involved. As preparations for the first heist get under way, high-tech equipment promises to help with the practical difficulties. The pair must get the theft right while dealing with their attraction to one another, in a venture that depends on planning and timing.
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Connery give Entrapment some welcome mischief, but Jon Amiel’s heist thriller makes stealing look more elaborate than exciting. The first robbery briefly suggests a sharper film.
Entrapment is mildly diverting when it lets Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Connery enjoy each other’s company, and disappointing when it asks us to worry about the thefts. Jon Amiel has the ingredients for a pleasingly frivolous romantic thriller: attraction, suspicion and people who expect to be cleverer than everyone else. The film needs us to enjoy their company enough to overlook its contrivances. For short stretches that bargain holds, but the plotting keeps testing our patience.
Sean Connery plays Robert ‘Mac’ MacDougal with the confidence of someone who considers expertise a sufficient substitute for explanation. There is pleasure in that unhurried assurance, especially when Catherine Zeta-Jones gives Virginia ‘Gin’ Baker enough cheek to challenge it. The flirtation works best as a contest over who gets to set the terms. Their exchanges have a little welcome bite, even when the screenplay is being coy about what either of them wants, and neither performer seems overburdened by the need to make everything plausible.
We felt a proper flutter of nerves during the build-up to the first robbery. The time spent preparing makes the equipment and the practical obstacles worth attending to, because a mistake finally seems possible. Terry Rawlings’ editing is most effective here, giving us a chance to anticipate trouble instead of merely keeping up with activity. Jon Amiel briefly finds the patience a heist needs, and the sequence benefits from being allowed to gather speed.
Phil Meheux’s photography gives the high-tech equipment an appealing gloss, while Norman Garwood’s production design makes the paraphernalia of theft pleasing to inspect. It is easy to see the attraction of a job with this much equipment. Too often, though, the gadgets are more engaging than the problems they are supposed to solve. Christopher Young’s music has to do too much of the work of making the action feel urgent. It cannot give us a reason to worry that the script has neglected to provide.
Ronald Bass and William Broyles Jr. supply complications without establishing a firm enough basis for suspense. We can accept unlikely behaviour in a caper, provided we understand what is being attempted and why a setback matters. Here the story too often asks for another allowance before the previous one has paid off. The later robbery suffers particularly from thin preparation, so the increased activity produces surprisingly little tension. The stars cannot make every contrivance seem like a joke they are sharing.
The romantic caper can survive a good deal of nonsense if the teasing stays lively and the danger remains intelligible. Entrapment gets by on its stars for a while, but it runs out of convincing obstacles before it runs out of film. At 112 minutes, the mild pleasures are spread thinly. Admirers of the leads will find something to enjoy in their sparring. Stay for the stars only if suspense is something you are prepared to do without.
Most critics find Entrapment a disappointing heist thriller, with scattered pleasures rather than sustained suspense. Praise centres on individual robbery sequences, moments of tension and wry humour, though there is little agreement about how much these redeem the film. The first heist’s build-up and a high-rise daredevil sequence receive particular approval. Variety gives Connery and Zeta-Jones much of the credit for keeping the caper watchable, finding their performances magnetic despite the contrived plotting.
The reservations cluster around implausibility, familiarity and a story that loses momentum after a promising setup. The reviews range from qualified enjoyment to outright boredom, with none offering an unreserved recommendation. Radio Times finds the mechanical robbery scenes effective and the film entertaining; other critics find too little suspense to overlook the silliness. Eye for Film also rejects the leads’ performances, directly opposing Variety’s main source of praise. Two partially accessible reviews leave some verdicts less firmly established.
The article is identified as a review of the film, but its text is inaccessible here. I can’t reliably determine the critic’s verdict or what they single out for praise or complaint.
Read the full review →The visible text suggests a sardonic view of Connery’s familiar master-thief persona, but the overall verdict is unavailable. The description singles out the similarity to roles he played in other films as a complaint.
Read the full review →Caro finds the familiar romantic heist thriller less stylish and intelligent than The Thomas Crown Affair, but still entertaining. He praises its tension and wry humour, and calls the robbery scenes mechanical yet effective.
Read the full review →The critic finds the thriller glossy but sloppy, with only mild diversion to offer. They praise the tense first heist’s build-up but fault the climactic robbery for its weak setup and lack of thrills.
Read the full review →McCarthy finds the caper too silly and fabricated to create suspense, though its romantic conceit helps it get by. He praises Connery and Zeta-Jones for carrying the film with magnetic performances.
Read the full review →The review finds the film’s promising setup quickly loses momentum, leaving a lacklustre and sometimes silly plot. It praises the impressive high-rise daredevil sequence as the one sustained thrill.
Read the full review →
The Thomas Crown Affair · not reviewed yetA more playful contest between a thief and the person pursuing him.
Topkapi · not reviewed yetAn elaborate robbery whose practical difficulties supply much of the pleasure.
Le Cercle Rouge · not reviewed yetFor patient preparation and a robbery sequence that earns its silence.
Out of SightThe criminal plotting gives two flirtatious leads something worth talking about.
The Thieves · not reviewed yetA larger crew brings competing loyalties and brisk complications to the robbery.
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