Gone in 60 Seconds

 

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Rated: PG13

reviewed by: Charity Bishop

Hollywood plays off the adrenaline-racing world of car thieving in this box office blockbuster that, much like Entrapment, has you rooting for a "retired" thief. However, it is for a good cause... or is it? The film starts off with a set of amateur car thieves stealing a silver Porsche from the showroom. Unfortunately, these boys have no idea what they're getting into... and find the cops on their heels. They lead the police right to their lair... and all thirty stolen cars that they were attempting to deliver to a nasty British baddie. 

He doesn't like it and places the leader Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) in the danger zone in the hope that the legendary "retired" car thief Memphis will step in and barter for his kid brother's life. The deal is this... Memphis (Nicholas Cage) must steal fifty cars in three days to meet the deadline. Determined to prevent his brother's inevitable death, Memphis attempts to round up his old gang of thieves. Some are game. Some are dead. Some are gone... and then there's Sway (Angelina Jolie), his old flame, who claims to have reformed. Putting back together the gang isn't easy... and then there's the car list, which involves a long string of hard-to-find and heavily-guarded automobiles. 

As they hijack expensive cars to be reworked and illegally sold abroad, the clock ticks down to an explosive climax. This is a high-stakes game, and there can only be one winner. The neighborhood cops have caught on and a state of alert has been called out for Memphis. They come and go at all of the most inopportune times and you find your heart racing as the clock slowly ticks down to the final climax. Car buffs will love it... there's hot-rod chases and escapes, sleek black Lamborghini Diablo's and shiny red Corvettes. The action rockets along at a breakneck speed, with some of the most incredible chase scenes ever choreographed. There are turn-coats, surprises, and excitement around every corner, not to mention a spattering of romance and chemistry between the leads. The gang is a loose interpretation of a family; they look out for each other and sacrifice themselves for friendship.  The cast works well together.

Unfortunately, this high-pumping adrenaline rush also comes with profane language (thirteen misuses of God's name, one possible f-word, and other scattered profanity), innuendo, violence, and sensuality. The darkest concern in the film is a scene of implied sex between a woman and her boyfriend, as Sway and Memphis watch from the inside of the couple's car. It begins with some heavy making out (on the porch, of all things), broadens into the removal of almost all the woman's clothes, and ends with the couple going inside and falling onto the bed as our thieves ride away in their car. This is coupled with some kissing and auto-related innuendo on our thieves' parts.  The scene goes in quick shots from one couple to the other but is unnecessary and embarrassing. Violence is also very apparent with some intense shooting sequences and brutal car chases.

The film is a bone-crunching, mental-twisting, explosive thriller that has a few good lessons to teach. But skewed ideals, foul language, and the aforementioned sexual sequence throw the wrench into this production's mortal structure. And to top it all off, the film left me with a bad feeling. I just didn't like it. I couldn't tell you why, but it struck a nerve.