Entrapment (film)

Entrapment

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jon Amiel
Produced by Sean Connery
Michael Hertzberg
Rhonda Tollefson
Screenplay by Ronald Bass
William Broyles, Jr.
Story by Ronald Bass
Michael Hertzberg
Starring Sean Connery
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Music by Christopher Young
Cinematography Phil Meheux
Edited by Terry Rawlings
Production
company
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • April 30, 1999 (1999-04-30) (US)
  • May 27, 1999 (1999-05-27) (Germany)
  • July 2, 1999 (1999-07-02) (UK)
Running time
 113 minutes
Country United States
United Kingdom
Germany
Language English
Budget $66 million
Box office $212,404,396[1]

Entrapment is a 1999 American caper film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Plot

Virginia "Gin" Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is an investigator for "Waverly Insurance". Robert "Mac" MacDougal (Sean Connery) is a professional thief who specializes in international art. A priceless Rembrandt painting is stolen from an office one night, and Gin is sent undercover to investigate Mac as the chief suspect. She tries to entrap him with a proposition, claiming that she is a professional thief herself, and promises that she will help him steal a priceless Chinese mask from the well-guarded Bedford Palace. Before agreeing, Mac tells Gin his 'Rule Number One': "Never carry a gun: You carry a gun, you may be tempted to use it." They travel to Scotland and plan the complicated theft at Mac's hideout, an isolated castle. Aaron Thibadeaux (Ving Rhames), apparently the only ally that Mac trusts, arrives with supplies for the heist. While Mac is busy making final preparations, Gin contacts her boss, Hector Cruz (Will Patton), from a payphone, and informs him of Mac's whereabouts. Little does she know that the island is bugged, allowing Mac to eavesdrop on their conversation. Mac also makes sure to keep Gin's romantic advances at bay, unsure if she is a true partner in crime or an ambitious career woman on a mission.

After they have stolen the mask, Mac accuses Gin of planning to sell the mask to a buyer in Kuala Lumpur and then turn him in. Gin convinces him that her insurance agency job is the real cover and that she has planned an even bigger heist in Kuala Lumpur: $8 billion from the "International Clearance Bank" in the North Tower of the Petronas Towers. During their set-up, Cruz and his team (with the guidance of the stealthy Thibadeaux) track down Gin and confirm that she is still on mission to bring Mac in. Despite the presence of Cruz and other security watching the building, the theft takes place in the final seconds of the new 2000 millennium countdown. Gin pulls the plug on her laptop prematurely and sets off alarms. They narrowly escape the computer vault and are forced to cross the lights hung from the bottom of the bridge linking the two towers. Following a death-defying escape when the cable breaks, Gin and Mac make their way to a ventilation shaft, where Mac explains "Plan B." Using mini-parachutes, they were going to escape down the shaft. Gin has lost her parachute earlier in the escape, so Mac gives her his. He tells her to meet him the next morning at the Pudu train station.

Gin arrives at the station waiting for Mac. He shows up late with Aaron Thibadeaux, who reveals himself with fellow FBI agents. He explains that Cruz is here and that the FBI has been looking for her for some time. Two years ago when Agent Thibadeaux caught and arrested him, Mac made a deal to help the FBI arrest Gin, as she was the primary target all along. However, the aging thief has another plan: to help her escape. Mac slips Gin a gun and quietly explains that he returned only seven of the eight billion dollars they had stolen electronically in the heist. Gin then pretends to hold Mac hostage at gunpoint, threatening to shoot him if the agents follow her. She boards a train and the FBI heads to the next station. Gin jumps trains mid-station and arrives back at Pudu. She tells Mac that she needs him for another job and they both board a train.

The Petronas Twin Towers, where the final heist takes place

Cast

Filming locations

Duart Castle, the location of MacDougal's hideout

Filming locations for the film include Blenheim Palace, Savoy Hotel London, Lloyd's of London, Borough Market, London, Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull in Scotland, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur (with other filming completed at Pinewood Studios), and the Bukit Jalil LRT station However, the signage at this station that was used for the movie was Pudu LRT station instead of Bukit Jalil.[2]

Critical reception

The film's frequently-referenced scene, with the camera focused on Zeta-Jones's buttocks most of the time.

The film opened to mixed or average reviews[3] as described by Metacritic. Rotten Tomatoes lists the film as receiving 38% positive reviews.[4] Critics focused on a scene where Zeta-Jones trains for the heist by worming around a net of red threads that simulate laser beams. The camera lingers on her buttocks through much of the scene. Another similar scene takes place when she is actually crawling through the real laser beam field to steal the mask, including some close-ups of her derrière. The laser scene was choreographed by Paul Harris, who also choreographed the wand-to-wand combat sequences in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Other critics such as The New York Times,[5] New York Magazine,[6] the Chicago Sun-Times,[7] Variety,[8] and Desson Howe/Thomson of the Washington Post[9] praised the film.

The film was a box office success, grossing over $87 million in the US and $212 million worldwide. Entrapment was nominated for two Razzie Awards including Worst Actress (Zeta-Jones, also for The Haunting) and Worst Screen Couple (Zeta-Jones and Connery). The film was screened out of competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.[10]

References

External links

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