Der Gentleman-Coup

Forget James Bond! Pierce Brosnan is at his best in this well-paced thoughtful revenge thriller--enough action for any Bond fan with enough twists and turns to keep the viewer guessing who will come out on top until the very end! Will the good guy win and get the girl? Watch and find out . . .

This is a movie that is NOT A FAMILY MOVIE because of the love scene--a winner if you like them--and a woman-swapping subplot. If you can eliminate those scenes, it's OK for teens, but will bore the little ones.

Five or so years ago, Brosnan's partner stole money from their racetrack and purchased emeralds, and, with the help of a crooked cop, sent innocent sucker Brosnan to prison for the deed. Brosnan's woman stayed with the partner and hooked up, being upwardly mobile, I guess. Now he returns to steal money from the track, but return it, get the partner arrested, and get back the girl. How will he do it? If 007, Remington Steele and Pierce Brosnan can't do it, who can? The plot is full of turns and twists, with lots of characters that cannot chew gum and walk, just like you and I know in real life. So, every step is hard on your nerves.

The movie is fun, and because it's complicated, you may want to watch it more than once, so you can "get" the details. But if you're a fan of any of the watchable actors in this film, and yes, there are plenty of women who like Skerritt better than Brosnan, that's noo00oo problemo.

The best part, besides the unowat part, is the final song, which is "Mi Manero," or "My Way" in Spanish. If you are not fluent in Spanish, you can actually hear the infectious joy of this great song without being put off by the embarrassing arrogance of the English words.

I'm really not much of a Brosnan fan, but I was impressed with his early work in Fourth Protocol with M. Caine...so I thought I'd take a chance and buy The Heist...thinking it must be a FAIRLY decent movie.WRONG!!! The opening scene with Brosnan spitting out on the prison yard was an IMMEDIATE turn-off. A thoroughly substandard production almost totally lacking in anything that would make you want to pay to see. Unimaginative and insipid at worst...boring and predictable at best...and where did they find his love interest? Short, fat, ugly and old.What was up with that!? I though ole Pierce was supposed to be a "ladies man". The supporting characters only succeeded in bringing what little of a movie there might have been down in flames.Even Skerrit was horrendous! All in all a thorough disaster to be avoided at ALL costs!!!Poor music score as well.

I am a sucker for heist films and for Pierce Brosnan, who did this little film after he finished with Remington Steele, and before he got famous as the best Bond ever.

I like a good heist. Usually, I like to watch the planning, but that wasn't the feature here. he had everything in his head and didn't appear to share with anyone, except maybe his girlfriend Sheila (Wendy Hughes).

This wasn't about money. It was about revenge against the guy who sent him to prison (Tom Skerritt) and winning his girl back.

It wasn't terribly great, but it was enjoyable. He perfected his ability in this type of picture and was brilliant in The Thomas Crown Affair.

A man gets out of prison and gets back at his old partner by robbing his racetrack. He even tells him he;'s going to do it and the owner is ready for him. Yes, that's an improbable story but an intriguing one. It wound up with so many twists and turns in the final minutes that I couldn't follow all of them. Many of the twists centered around ex-con character, which was impossible to figure out.

Pierce Brosnan played "Neil Skinner," a man who served four years in prison he shouldn't have had to serve. Tom Skerritt plays "Ebbet Berens," the racetrack owner whom Brosnan is after. Wendy Hughes plays "Sheila," the love interest in the film.

Interesting overall as Brosnan seems to be tuning up for his suave, James Bond roles, which he would begin in about five years. This film was interesting, but unsatisfying by the time it was all over. A simpler ending would have made this a much better film.