Oh, What A Tangled Web…

Main Cast: Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Will Patton, Maury Chaykin

Director: Jon Amiel

Well, I must say that the plot is fairly good as these action films go, but I can’t quite bring myself to fall into the “willing suspension of disbelief” necessary to fully enjoy the genre. Sorry, this one just didn’t quite make it. The plot: we have a mysterious art thief who just made a terrific heist, going up (and down) a skyscraper in order to nab a beauty of a painting. Cut to another beauty, Virginia Baker (Zeta-Jones), an insurance agent who believes that the thief is one Robert MacDougal (Connery). She’s been on his trail for at least five years, despite her boss’s (Patton) skepticism.

But don’t worry about the plot, really. The whole movie rests on the relationship between Baker and MacDougal. Yes, of course they meet up later, and perhaps they have more than just a little in common. Everyone is not quite who they seem, motives twist and turn, and the whys and wherefores start to pile up. Most are answered, some are not. But Zeta-Jones is worth watching, most definitely. She brings spark and energy to her role, as usual. And Connery is a delight, mostly as usual, a bit old, but still has it in him.

I can’t help but compare this to Tomb Raider. That, too, had a beautiful woman in the lead, a twisting plot, and plenty of action. The problem is that the lead in that film, Angelina Jolie, didn’t take the character or plot seriously. She simply slipped up a few notches and had fun with the whole thing. I don’t sense that from this movie, which I think is a shame. It should have been less serious and more camp. But, it isn’t a horrible movie, just a bit lacking. The two stars pull it up from complete dreck. Sometimes it happens!