Out of Sight

I'm quite fascinated by Steven Soderbergh's career ups and downs. Interesting thrillers like 'Underneath' and 'The Limey' are all but ignored, but this piece of fluff is a major hit? Go figure. George Clooney has charm and charisma, but I think he and the first class supporting cast (Rhames, Cheadle, Zahn, Brooks, Farina, Keener et al) are let down by a mundane script. Clooney and Jennifer Lopez's characters to me displayed zero chemistry, which made the plot twists difficult to swallow, and overall I really didn't care what happened to Clooney and Rhames and their robbery plans. This has got to be one of the emptiest, most overrated "modern classics" in a long time. I really can't see what's supposed to be so good about this one. About the only thing I like about it is David Holmes' soundtrack. Cool music, dull movie.

Chemistry so hot that they ignite the screen. Too bad it didn't ignite the Box Office, but Out Of Sight is one movie both George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez can feel damn proud of. Maybe it's the fact that George's criminal character is *actually* funny and multi-dimensional. Maybe it's the fact that the storyline actually has a story to it - and an interesting one at that. Hell - maybe it's just that J.Lo walks around in skimpy outfits - curves flaunted - and likes to kick butt. After much consideration, I must concur: it's equal parts to all 3.

Strong performances by Clooney (Jack) and Lopez (Karen), as well as George's Ocean's 11 co-star Don Cheadle. Witty script and likeable characters with a satisfying and plot-twisting ending. What more can you want? Did I hear you say Jennifer Lopez naked? Yeah well, you won't get that here... but it's good all the same!

In the tradition of Get Shorty, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, Out Of Sight revels in loser crims, wry dialogue and flashbacks. Out Of Sight hasn't the gleefully exuberant, oops, bloodshed of Pulp Fiction or Get Shorty (not much of it anyway), or the stunning languidity of Jackie Brown but even without marked pizzazz, Out Of Sight excels. In Out Of Sight Jack Foley (George Clooney) gets busted doing a stupid bank hold up (even though he's done a couple of hundred of them), escapes from prison but then gets mixed up with U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez). Foley is chasing some uncut diamonds he's heard about in prison from another crim called Ripley (Albert Brooks), but so are a bunch of other crooks. Elmore Leonard's books (other adaptations have been Get Shorty, Jackie Brown and now Out Of Sight) are full of men who are both losers and who also live on the thin side of the law. But Leonard colours these characters affectionately. Their mishaps and schemes tend to be both awful and funny. The women on the other hand tend to come out on top; they're smarter and more sensible. Out Of Sight is trashy in the nicest way. Out Of Sight of sight largely revolves around the relationship between the crook and the Marshal, between George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. George Clooney holds his place in Out Of Sight of sight pretty well but Jennifer Lopez again shines. Money Train, Anaconda, Blood And Wine, U Turn and now Out Of Sight have established the New York born actress as one of the best on the big screen these days. She adds wit and strength to a part which could have easily been flat, and didn't have to emphasise either her Latino heritage or her curvy body to do it. She makes Out Of Sight work. And then, somehow, these crooks and their crazy schemes make sense, even if running upstairs carrying a loaded gun doesn't.

Wild and chaotic action/drama/comedy that was basically ignored by everyone in 1998, but was definitely one of the top ten films of the year. Bank robber George Clooney escapes prison one day and is tracked by a female federal marshal (Jennifer Lopez, in a very hot performance). There is definitely a chemistry between Clooney and Lopez that will lead to fireworks on more than one occasion. Clooney has teamed up with some crazed criminals for a jewel heist, but Lopez continues to track him relentlessly. "Out of Sight" is so full of, well, everything. It is packed with action, romance, drama, and some very black comedy. Clooney and Lopez do the best work of their careers. The supporting cast is super as well. Don Cheadle, Ving Rhames, Michael Keaton, Dennis Farina, and Albert Brooks all shine with the inventive screenplay and the top-notch direction. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I, too, had a little trouble buying that such an intense relationship was born from such a minor conversation between them in the trunk. However, when I was able to get past that inconsistency in the plot, I found a great movie. Clooney and Lopez have great chemistry and show that they are both actors worthy of recognition. I loved the editing--the choppy cuts and the freezing of certain scenes. And I have never seen a better seduction scene in my life. The supporting cast was great too, especially the incomparably zany Steve Zahn. And once I got past the improbability of the relationship being so intense that she would risk her career for it, I thought that the way that she did risk her career was just great. I laughed out loud at the scene when he waves to her from the elevator. That is just a wonderful illustration that not everything is clear-cut or easy to do. Clooney was phenomenal, so cool...and just resigned to his life. I loved it.

By the way, seeing this movie after Jennifer Lopez has launched her career in pop music simply infuriated me that Hollywood has all but lost a true talent to the world of bubblegum pop.