2008 Woodie Awards
Contentment After the Sunset?
Briana Visone
Issue date: 11/10/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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On November 12, After the Sunset will be released into theaters. Starring Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek, this movie is a caper film, which is a cross between The Thomas Crown Affair and Ocean's Eleven without the eleven.
Brosnan portrays Max and Hayek plays Lola. Max and Lola are expert thieves. Their prime goal was the Napoleon Diamonds. After stealing two out of three of the unflawed diamonds, Max and Lola decide to retire to the Caribbean. After about six months of relaxing, Agent Stan of the FBI shows up to attempt to catch Max and Lola from stealing the third Napoleon Diamond which will be shown on a cruise ship on their island. He cannot admit that Max and Lola are truly retired. The question remains, will they decide to steal the diamond or can they retire and be happy living in paradise?
This character is not a stretch for Brosnan. The character is that of Thomas Crown, only without the business attire. He steals not for the money but for the rush. Similarly, Hayek has played similar characters as Lola before. While this may be so, both actors still gave fine performances. Nothing else was needed to be put into the character in order to make the movie any better. Woody Harrelson portrayed Agent Stan. A wonderful comedian, Harrelson did a great job in this role. He was able to make the antagonist likeable up until the end.
After the Sunset is a great comedy. In one particular scene, Max and Stan are fishing on a boat and accidentally catch a shark. At first the shark does not move, but when it does Stan decides to shoot the shark, not once, but multiple times. There are numerous scenes such as this where the main focus is comedic.
The film is an original screenplay by Paul Zybszewski. He created a clever, heist film with comedy and heart thrown in. The story keeps your attention because the audience never knows what is going to happen next. A twist seems to be coming, but what is the shock? When it finally arrives, the editing ties in the flashbacks of how everything worked out perfectly. The director, Brett Ratner did an excellent job at bringing the scenes together in order to keep the audience guessing. Everything worked together perfectly.
While After the Sunset was funny and clever, it is the type of movie one would enjoy the first time, but not necessarily as much the next time. After knowing the twists, the movie may not be quite as enjoyable as the surprise. Also, some of the jokes were a little low for the comedic part of the film. When Max and Lola first move to the Caribbean, they meet numerous other couples and have dinner with them. All of the couples are odd in some way. One of the couples tells Max and Lola they are into swapping. That type of joke is unnecessary. It is a cheap joke and the script did not need it.
Aside from these few points, the movie was extremely entertaining. It is recommended to anyone who enjoys movies such as Ocean's Eleven and The Thomas Crown Affair, and Catch Me if you Can. After the Sunset is enjoyable and fun to watch, it is worth the $10.25.
Brosnan portrays Max and Hayek plays Lola. Max and Lola are expert thieves. Their prime goal was the Napoleon Diamonds. After stealing two out of three of the unflawed diamonds, Max and Lola decide to retire to the Caribbean. After about six months of relaxing, Agent Stan of the FBI shows up to attempt to catch Max and Lola from stealing the third Napoleon Diamond which will be shown on a cruise ship on their island. He cannot admit that Max and Lola are truly retired. The question remains, will they decide to steal the diamond or can they retire and be happy living in paradise?
This character is not a stretch for Brosnan. The character is that of Thomas Crown, only without the business attire. He steals not for the money but for the rush. Similarly, Hayek has played similar characters as Lola before. While this may be so, both actors still gave fine performances. Nothing else was needed to be put into the character in order to make the movie any better. Woody Harrelson portrayed Agent Stan. A wonderful comedian, Harrelson did a great job in this role. He was able to make the antagonist likeable up until the end.
After the Sunset is a great comedy. In one particular scene, Max and Stan are fishing on a boat and accidentally catch a shark. At first the shark does not move, but when it does Stan decides to shoot the shark, not once, but multiple times. There are numerous scenes such as this where the main focus is comedic.
The film is an original screenplay by Paul Zybszewski. He created a clever, heist film with comedy and heart thrown in. The story keeps your attention because the audience never knows what is going to happen next. A twist seems to be coming, but what is the shock? When it finally arrives, the editing ties in the flashbacks of how everything worked out perfectly. The director, Brett Ratner did an excellent job at bringing the scenes together in order to keep the audience guessing. Everything worked together perfectly.
While After the Sunset was funny and clever, it is the type of movie one would enjoy the first time, but not necessarily as much the next time. After knowing the twists, the movie may not be quite as enjoyable as the surprise. Also, some of the jokes were a little low for the comedic part of the film. When Max and Lola first move to the Caribbean, they meet numerous other couples and have dinner with them. All of the couples are odd in some way. One of the couples tells Max and Lola they are into swapping. That type of joke is unnecessary. It is a cheap joke and the script did not need it.
Aside from these few points, the movie was extremely entertaining. It is recommended to anyone who enjoys movies such as Ocean's Eleven and The Thomas Crown Affair, and Catch Me if you Can. After the Sunset is enjoyable and fun to watch, it is worth the $10.25.