After the Sunset

Fumbling badly by leaving the audience out of the best part of any heist flick--namely, the logistics of the heist (whose dumb idea was that?)--After the Sunset stars Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek as an ace diamond-snatching couple who retire to Jamaica after an opening-scene One Last Big Score crackling with creative how-they-did-it details that are regrettably missing from the rest of the film. For the remaining five reels, the couple engages in cute cat-and-mouse-ing with inept G-man rival Woody Harrelson, who is convinced Brosnan can't resist the prize diamond soon to be on display aboard a visiting cruise ship. While there's a good concept for a snappy thriller here somewhere, director Brett Ratner (who helmed the flaccid Rush Hour action-comedies) sure can't find it: he's far more interested in lowbrow laughs and Hayek's skimpy bikini than he is in sophisticated intrigue or even making sure his story holds together. Once Brosnan gives into temptation (there'd be no movie if he didn't), the film skimps on specifics because the heist plot is riddled with insultingly obvious holes. So, if you're seeking a clever thriller in which a suave retired jewel thief romances a knockout girl, stick with To Catch a Thief instead. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: Available in widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary (by director Brett Ratner, producer Beau Flynn, and editor Mark Helfrich), the 70-minute "making-of" featurette “Before, During and After the Sunset,” an 18-minute Charlie Rose interview (featuring Ratner and costars Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, and Woody Harrelson), 15 deleted scenes with optional commentary--including the original ending (17 min.), the seven-minute featurette “Interview with a Jewel Thief” (featuring Bill Mason, author of Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief), a five-minute blooper reel, a three-minute visual effects comparison with voiceover by Helfrich, TV spots and trailers, and DVD-ROM features. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a disappointing film.] (R. Blackwelder)