Customer Reviews

After the Sunset (Full Screen Edition)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I must confess to not being a fan of Woody Harrelson, Don Cheadle or Selma Hayek, so you know off the bat who I went to see in this film -- Pierce Brosnan.

However, but the time this film was halfway through, I became a BIG fan of those three actors. Very rarely do you get the sense that the actors had fun making a film, but the chemistry and joy that comes off the screen in After the Sunset makes it very hard to miss. This is a great popcorn flick, and clearly the actors had a great time making it. How could they not, they were in paradise.

Speaking of -- the cinematography in this film is costly. Costly because after seeing ATS you will want to stay at the Atlantis resort, and I am guessing it is costly.

Costly too is Max Burdett's (Brosnan) tastes but he can afford it with his skill in thievery. Equally skilled in law enforcement is Stan Lloyd (Harrelson), who is banking his career on finding Burdett as he tries to steal the third Napolean diamond. Who ultimately succeeds in this film is something you have to pay to find out, but trust me, like Catch a Thief there is a twist at the end.

Selma Hayek is GORGEOUS in this film and equally believable as a thief and as a lover. Don Cheadle's role is only a touch longer than a cameo, but when he makes his appearances, he can not be missed.

One of the big surprise highlights of this film is the chemistry between Rachael Harris and Obba Babatundé. Equally fun is the banter between unlikely gal palls Hayek and Harris.

Another surprise is the deft hand Brett Ratner had at giving the film goers just as small taste of social commentary. You do see both sides of Paradise, and a careful viewer will take note of the stark differences between the two.

Being a Brosnan fan, I went into this film expecting to enjoy it a lot, but there was no way I could anticpate the many different ways I would. After the Sunset is a film where you mind spending the money on the tickets and the popcorn.

Oh and that noise you're hearing? That's the folks at Eon Productions banging their heads against the wall because they let their billion dollar Bond get away.

Okay, so After the Sunset certainly isn't a film that you'd be hearing about at the Oscars. It's not even a good caper movie, but it is funny. While the movie is surrounded around one great caper, the caper itself is nothing special, nothing we haven't seen before, and without any surprises. As a caper movie, it flops. As a comedy, it's, well, pretty good.

Brosnan and Hayek star as Max and Lola, two thieves ready to give up their caper lifestyle and retire to the Caribbean. Lola is excited about quitting-- she would rather spend her time scuba diving and watching sunsets with Max. Max, on the other hand, learns that a big fat diamond is on public display, coincidentally on the same island that he is now living on with Lola. He can't get the jewel out of his head. Then we have Stan (Harrelson). He's an FBI agent who teams up with a local cop named Sophie with the hopes of finally nabbing Max, whom he's been chasing for seven years. Toss in a gangster played by Don Cheadle, some funny one-liners, and lots of bronzed skin and you have yourself the perfect popcorn flick.

What's funny is that Brosnan and Harrelson have more chemistry than Brosnan and Hayek. I found myself wanting to skip the parts with Hayek just to get straight to Harrelson! These two are so funny together, especially in one noteworthy scene where they end up in bed together. Brosnan and Hayek make a beautiful couple no doubt, but their relationship seems forced and somewhat awkward. But at least they're nice to look at. All in all, this is just a funny and sometimes goofy movie. Not much in the caper arena, but funny nonetheless. Check it out sometime -- RECOMMENDED.

Now "After the Sunset" is what I would call a really cool and funny movie. You can well expect something fun and interesting if a movie has both Woody and Pierce Brosnan in a movie together, and you get it in this film. The movie doesn't take itself so seriously since this isn't a serious heist film. There are little small jokes thrown in here and there that keep you watching and really keep you entertained. There is even a twist at the end of the movie that I never really saw coming. Throughout the film, you see two enemies that eventually grow to have respect for each other and even become friends. If you want a serious action flick like off of a James Bond movie, this movie probably wouldn't appeal to you. But if you like "good cop bad cop" comedies that keep you entertained the entire time, this is it. Not a blockbuster movie, but entertaining none the less.

this is what his life would have been.

Max (Brosnan) is a jewel thief who always gets his target. Stan (Harrelson) is the FBI agent in charge of guarding the latest gem Max has his eye on. Stan doesn't have a chance but nearly manages to take Max down during the theft. Lola (Hayek), Max's girlfriend and partner convinces Max that it is time to retire while they are one the top of their game. With some reservations Max agrees and the two move to the Bahamas where Max soon gets bored while Lola seeks to find ways to fill their days.

Stan then appears convinced that this has all been a ruse as Max and Lola prepare to steal yet another diamond that will be arriving soon. Max protests his innocence but Stan does not believe him. Others soon become involved in this would be heist and eventually the diamond does disppear but who is the thief?

This is to serious heist films what REMINGTON STEELE was to serious detective shows. Like Steele, AFTER THE SUNSET is a lighthearted romp that requires to viewer to not look too closely. The real attraction here is not the clever heist but the interactions between the various characters.

While this film is fun and I definitely recommend it, it is not without flaws. At times the action gets a bit confusing, even to lack focus. This is somewhat explained during the directors commentary where it is made clear that the movie was rewritten a few times up to and including who the thief was and how the film would end. Still this is a fun film, like REMINGTON STEELE, there are references to other movies. Some are subtle like the split screen action a la THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR others more obvious like Max watching TO CATCH A THIEF.

The film is beautifully shot, and is at times, as the director jokes, almost an advertisement for the Bahamas in general and the Atlantis resort in particular. The music score is a delight in itself.

The additional features are interesting and include, besides the director's commentary, deleted scenes, bloopers, a 'making of' feature, and some hidden 'goodies' that require a bit of searching.

"After the Sunset" is a caper movie that doesn't function particularly well as a caper movie, a romance that doesn't function particularly well as a romance, and a buddy movie that...well, you get the point.

This movie breezes through a hour and a half pretty painlessly, and provides some decent moments; besides, honestly, any film that shows this much of Salma Hayek gets two stars on general hetero principles.

Problem is, caper movies have to have something that crackles - the dialogue, the details of the caper itself, the action, the suspense - and "After the Sunset" settles for a laid-back, Jimmy Buffett style of storytelling that doesn't offend, but isn't particularly involving or fun.

Pierce Brosnan plays Max, an ace jewel thief; Hayek plays his partner in crime and life, Lola. Brosnan and Hayek have a nice, easygoing chemistry well suited to their comfortable onscreen relationship, which is tested when Max decides to pull one last job.

Woody Harrelson plays Stan Lloyd, an FBI agent who has been foiled by Max before, most notably in the opening sequences, during which Max takes remote control of the SUV Lloyd is riding in (neat trick, since 1) no car can be driven this way, and 2) Max couldn't possibly drive the car without knowing where it's going), knocks him out with gas, and steals the diamond the FBI is transporting.

Lloyd follows Max to the Bahamas (one wonders how much the Atlantis resort paid for all the free product placemeent), where he finds Max thinking (or maybe not thinking) of knocking over an ocean liner carrying a precious diamond.

Along the way, a local cop (Naomie Harris, following up her strong performance in "28 Days Later" with another one) takes notice of Lloyd, and they eventually hook up in a scene taken straight from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (you know, the one where Indy keeps telling Marian to kiss different innocuous body parts before pointing to his lips).

And, amazingly enough, Max and Lloyd become buddies, though I never bought that aspect of their relationship one bit (which, as it turns out, is more of a plot contrivance than a failure of the actors or script).

There's also a local crime boss (Don Cheadle), a transplanted gangster from Detroit who tries to contract Max to steal the diamond to "develop the local infrastructure."

Caper movies can either revel in the details ("Heist"), the characters ("The Sting"), or in the style (the remake of "Ocean's Eleven"), but "After the Sunset" doesn't seem to revel in anything but its own mellowness (and long, lingering shots of Hayek, thank goodness).


All this adds up to a movie that tastes good and is instantly forgettable - a cinematic Pina Colada, if you will.

If you're looking to kill a couple hours, this movie might fit the bill. It's a standard caper flick with FBI agent Harrelson playing cat-and-mouse with master jewel thief Brosnan. Nothing groundbreaking: you have formula characters in a formula plot. On the minus side, the acting is uninspired and the plot has holes big enough to drive a freight train through. Still, the interplay between Harrelson and Brosnan is fairly amusing and Salma Hayek certainly enhances the visuals despite her one-dimensional character. There's nothing exceptional or objectionable here, just an above-average cast making the most of decent material.

I would actually give this movie 3.5 stars if I could. This is a movie that I really wanted to like. Its got Pierce Brosnan and Woody Harrelson playing very well off of each other, its got Salma Hayek in tiny bikinis, and its got beautiful locales. And its pretty darn funny too. Sadly, the movie is less than the sum of its parts.
Basically, the story begins where most heist movies end- on the beach after the final heist. Max Berdette (Brosnan) and his girlfriend Lola Cirillo (Hayek) are, or I should say were, professional jewel thieves who had simultaneously pulled off one of the best heists in history while at the same time completely humiliating FBI Agent Stan Lloyd (Harrelson), who had been tailing them for years. After the heist, the couple moves down to the Bahamas to retire.
After a hilarious montage, we learn that the couple has been on the island for a few months, when Lloyd shows up claiming that he's "on to them". Turns out that a cruise liner is carrying another priceless diamond, and Lloyd thinks that Berdette wants to steal it. In order to learn about Berdette's plans, Lloyd and Berdette start hanging out, and they even start to become friends.
Meanwhile, Henri Moore (Don Cheadle), a local gangster enlists Berdette's help in stealing the diamond, while Lloyd teams up with Sophie (Naomi Harris), an island cop, to help him catch Berdette in the act.
So that's basically the plot. While the movie is great and fast-paced at points, there are points of equal lenght were almost nothing happens to advance the story. Furthermore, this movie follows a fairly standard heist movie formula, so it is reasonably predictable.
However, as I said, this movie is pretty funny. This would be the main reason I would suggest seeing it now. If you want a good story though, wait for it to come to DVD.

Someone needs to tell Pierce Brosnan to play something other than spies and charming thieves -- he's been playing them since the eighties, and there's only so much he can do with those roles. Unfortunately he treads old ground in "After the Sunset," a weary crime caper which is lightened only by Salma Hayek's attempts to spice it up.

Max (Pierce Brosnan) and Lola (Salma Hayek) are master thieves... in retirement. Having pulled off one last robbery, they are planning to retire to a tropical paradise. Lola loves the life of leisuere in the Bahamas, but Max is finding it a bit hard to settle down -- he even tries to get Lola to engage in some petty thefts, just for the rush of it.

Then Max learns that a nearby cruise ship is showcasing the famous third Napolean diamond. He's already stolen two, so it seems only appropriate. FBI agent Stan Lloyd (Woody Harrelson) is determined to finally catch his quarry after seven long years -- and engages in a tedious game of cat and mouse with Max, as Max decides whether or not to steal the diamond.

It's a bit hard not to compare this to "The Thomas Crown Affair," Brosnan's sleek star vehicle from 1999. "After the Sunset" suffers from a lack of almost everything that "Affair" had -- style, sexiness, a tight plot and solid direction, a few unexpected twists, and a female lead who doesn't look way too young for the 50-plus Brosnan.

The main focus of the plot seems to be lingering on the beauty of the Bahamas and the swank surroundings Max and Lola glide through. Occasionally Max uses improbable hi-tech robbery tools. Not a bad tour, really. But you can only eat so much cotton candy before wanting a steak. Otherwise, it gets obscenely boring -- no thrills. Eventually the strained plot tries to give itself some twists, like Lola threatening to seek the high life AWAY from Max. But you never actually believe that she will.

Brosnan doesn't stretch any new acting muscles, but he's charming and suave in a Bond-ish, Remington-Steele-ish way. Salma Hayek does much better, giving the film some bikini shots, yet offering an innocent charm whens she talks about a tennis instructor complimenting her "backside." Don Cheadle is embarrassing as a local gangster, and Harrelson gives a decent enough performance as the bumbling agent.

"After the Sunset" has two good actors, but misuses them in a plot that is overstretched and overstrained. "To Catch a Thief"? How about "To Catch A Break."

Marketed as a clever heist movie set in an exotic locale, "After the Sunset" is also a satisfying romance with two idealized lovers (Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek) who let greed, dishonesty, and complacency come between them. These lovers happen to be master jewel thieves enjoying their spoils in the tropics as their relationship reaches a turning point.

Filmed on location in Paradise Island, Bahamas, "After the Sunset" begins as they finish their final score in which they steal the second of the three famous Napoleon diamonds. However, a persistent FBI agent (the unfortunately miscast Woody Harrelson) has been pursuing them for seven years, and becomes convinced that they are plotting another heist, rather than a romantic interlude and an early retirement.

Because the agent has no jurisdiction in the Caribbean country, he teams with a local police officer (Naomie Harris) and sets out to catch the couple. A local man, (Don Cheadle), is a transplanted Detroit gangster also intent on acquiring the third diamond. A convenient parallel romance between the agent and the police officer seems like an implausible scenario concocted by the screenwriters merely for laughs.

The relationship between the Brosnan and Hayek characters, however, feels genuine. Although their circumstances are extreme, their struggles to remain a couple reflect problems in off-screen romances everywhere. Not only is the audience unsure whether they will stay together, but we're unsure whether they should ever have gotten together in the first place.

The plot twists and turns combined with the two beautiful co-stars in a breathtaking environment make this an exciting film to watch. While the story stretches the limits of believability, it's an entertaining 90 minutes of pure PG-13 escapism.

Leslie Halpern, author of Reel Romance: The Lovers' Guide to the 100 Best Date Movies and Dreams on Film: The Cinematic Struggle Between Art and Science.

Utterly generic and unsurprising, but thoroughly enjoyable. The Bahamas are positively stunning, as is Salma Hayek and the other female lead (unfortunately, her name escapes me). Hayak and Brosnan have great chemistry, looking and acting completely comfortable and believable together. As for Brosnan's "less than Bond-like physique", did it ever occur to critics that he deliberately let himself get like that for the role? Never bothered me--he's one of few men who can pull off that scraggly look and still be hot.
A decent way to spend two hours on a Saturday evening.

So the DVD will contain outtakes? I hope one of them is the one shown on Letterman or Conan last fall (Hayak and director Ratner switched places behind Brosnan's back as he made a phone call, when he rolled over to kiss her, he completely flipped out upon nearly locking lips with Ratner. LOL!)