Rated PG-13
Reviewed by: Frank
June 6, 2000

With Detective Roland Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) one his trail,  Memphis Raines (Nicholas Cage) must mastermind the one night theft of 50 high end cars.  The excuse is to save his brother; the purpose is to present a series of wild chase scenes in some very special cars.

The three Academy Award winners, Cage, Angelina Jolie and Robert Duvall, are secondary to the limited plot filled with comic gang bangers and overblown chase scenes which are not even spectacular given the action commitment on the screens this summer.  Director Dominic Sena should have looked back at the clean, clear, heart thumping chase in Bullitt to see how it's done.

But, the evil villain (Christopher Eccleston) threatening life and limb for little brother (Giovanni Ribisi), who is under the gun for blowing a heist while hot rodding with the stolen prize, demands our attention.  With the excitement of stealing cars valued over $100,000, body disposal a-la Goldfinger, comic relief by Timothy Olyphant's Detective Drycoff, Mirror Man (TJ Cross) and Vinnie Jones (who keeps his Sphinx quiet until the last scene) the standard script jumps to life.

We are treated to the world of stunning cars lead by a 1950 Mercury custom with a license plate "Dean," and a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT 500 nicknamed Eleanor, which the reform car thieves must have in boxes on the Long Beach waterfront, ready to be shipped to South America by villain Calitri within one day.  They march off like The Magnificent Seven pulling out ignition switches, using screw drivers and other tricks learned over the years, to spark the Cadillacs, Corvettes, Ferraris, Jaguars, Mercedes, Porsches, and a Rolls-Royce Stretch Limousine to life.

Cage's Memphis must overcome the villain's love of wood, a coffin waiting to be filled, a tattooed Jolie, a smart detective, a former friend played by Will Patton and his fear of Eleanor the Mustang, before he can save little brother Kip.  We follow on his heals throughout the adventure and what appears trite in the beginning, leaves us smiling, cheering and impressed in the end.