I think I enjoyed the screenplay more than the movie. Still, I don't think I would characterize the script as a fast read. SPOILERS below.
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Act I
1-10: An opening heist. We're introduced to Gin's (Zeta-Jones) job as an insurance investigator. Mac's (Sean Connery) character is established as an amazing thief (from the insurance folks' perspective).
11: They meet. Gin wants to entrap him, lure him into doing something illegal. She poses as an art dealer.
11-16: She tries once to befriend him. He rebuffs her. She tries another time with more success.
17-22: Mac pulls off a heist secretly with Gin as an alibi.
24: Gin seduces Mac to enter his circle of trust.
25-29: They fool around back at the hotel. She looks through his items secretly, he looks through hers.
Act II
30-36: Mac begins his collaboration with Gin. Asks her to do a simple buy which turns out to be not so simple. This turns out to be an "audition" for Gin.
37-40: Mac reveals that he's a thief. Entraps Gin by mailing stolen property in her luggage.
41-68: Long sequence. Mac preps Gin for his big heist of a freighter. They scope out the freighter, go back to his place to train / become closer. Gin keeps her cover, only secretly calling her boss. Despite her secrecy, Mac finds out, knows that she's a cop, but keeps quiet. They pull off the heist successfully.
69: Midpoint. Mac confesses that he knows Gin is a cop. Gin tells him that she's actually a thief, and pulled off the movie's opening heist, and has actually been auditioning him for a big job she's planning.
70-87: They pull off another heist to get a macguffin which will allow them to attempt the main mission.
Act III
90-104: The big mission. They get into a critical bank control room.
105: Big heist goes wrong. A CD gets stuck in a computer and they have to pry it out, tripping the alarms.
105-111: They escape successfully.
112-119: Mac reveals he's a cop. Being a thief was his cover. But he likes Gin, so he helps her escape.
*********************
The movie places the midpoint twist at the first act climax. This sacrifices its punch, because we never really see Gin snooping around Mac's stuff or contacting her home office to keep up appearances.
One problem I have with the screenplay is a lack of anticipation or suspense. At least the movie uses on-screen titles, e.g. "14 days to the new millennium." Those make us ask, "what happens then?"
Further, the romance subplot doesn't have a lot of drama. Sparks fly between them from the beginning. Nothing really hampers their relationship.
Still, the dialogue was snappy. There were two good twists. And no dearth of action-oriented set pieces.
Without more suspense, though, it was something of a slower read for me. Anyone else have thoughts on the script or movie?
*********************
Act I
1-10: An opening heist. We're introduced to Gin's (Zeta-Jones) job as an insurance investigator. Mac's (Sean Connery) character is established as an amazing thief (from the insurance folks' perspective).
11: They meet. Gin wants to entrap him, lure him into doing something illegal. She poses as an art dealer.
11-16: She tries once to befriend him. He rebuffs her. She tries another time with more success.
17-22: Mac pulls off a heist secretly with Gin as an alibi.
24: Gin seduces Mac to enter his circle of trust.
25-29: They fool around back at the hotel. She looks through his items secretly, he looks through hers.
Act II
30-36: Mac begins his collaboration with Gin. Asks her to do a simple buy which turns out to be not so simple. This turns out to be an "audition" for Gin.
37-40: Mac reveals that he's a thief. Entraps Gin by mailing stolen property in her luggage.
41-68: Long sequence. Mac preps Gin for his big heist of a freighter. They scope out the freighter, go back to his place to train / become closer. Gin keeps her cover, only secretly calling her boss. Despite her secrecy, Mac finds out, knows that she's a cop, but keeps quiet. They pull off the heist successfully.
69: Midpoint. Mac confesses that he knows Gin is a cop. Gin tells him that she's actually a thief, and pulled off the movie's opening heist, and has actually been auditioning him for a big job she's planning.
70-87: They pull off another heist to get a macguffin which will allow them to attempt the main mission.
Act III
90-104: The big mission. They get into a critical bank control room.
105: Big heist goes wrong. A CD gets stuck in a computer and they have to pry it out, tripping the alarms.
105-111: They escape successfully.
112-119: Mac reveals he's a cop. Being a thief was his cover. But he likes Gin, so he helps her escape.
*********************
The movie places the midpoint twist at the first act climax. This sacrifices its punch, because we never really see Gin snooping around Mac's stuff or contacting her home office to keep up appearances.
One problem I have with the screenplay is a lack of anticipation or suspense. At least the movie uses on-screen titles, e.g. "14 days to the new millennium." Those make us ask, "what happens then?"
Further, the romance subplot doesn't have a lot of drama. Sparks fly between them from the beginning. Nothing really hampers their relationship.
Still, the dialogue was snappy. There were two good twists. And no dearth of action-oriented set pieces.
Without more suspense, though, it was something of a slower read for me. Anyone else have thoughts on the script or movie?