After the Sunset (2004)

★★½
Aside from the great locations and splendid chemistry between the actors, there’s not much to recommend After the Sunset. If you’re looking for a good caper movie, stick with Ocean’s Twelve. There’s very little here in the way of elaborate set pieces and cool precision. There is, however, an amusing good-guy/bad-guy relationship based on mutual respect and obsessive one-upmanship.

Expert jewel thief Max Burdett (Pierce Brosnan) has been a thorn in the side of F.B.I. agent Stan Lloyd (Woody Harrelson) for years. Max lives for two things: stealing valuable stones and tormenting Stan in the process. Despite Stan studying up on all of Max’s methods, he still can’t catch the guy in the act. Max’s final heist before retiring—the theft of a large diamond—goes off without a hitch. Afterwards, he and his girlfriend Lola (Salma Hayek) flee to Paradise Island in the Caribbean to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Six months later, Stan shows up to confront Max. There’s a luxury liner in port, holding a diamond worth about $10 million. Max claims he’s retired; Stan doesn’t believe him. Much of the film’s second act is a cat and mouse game, with the men trading the roles of cat and mouse with each passing day. They keep their distance occasionally, but most of the time they interact directly, usually with words to express their eventual victory. Stan thinks he will catch Max this time, but Max says he’s not interested in the diamond and that the cruise ship will depart from the island with its precious cargo onboard.

Stan and Max have a love-hate friendship between them. They play the same psychological game. Whether on a fishing trip or a scuba-diving expedition, they display friendship and openness, even though at the back of their minds is an agenda that the other suspects. The time to proclaim victory will come when someone slips, at which point the other will step forward with an I-told-you-so attitude.

That is the film’s selling point. Pierce Brosnan and Woody Harrelson have an entertaining way of playing off each other. They come across as professionals in their field, but they’re also arrogant. The men are so confident in their skills that they can tease each other endlessly without fear of failure. This allows for some of the film’s funnier and lighter moments. Basically, they’re the cinematic equivalents of Ralph and Sam, the Loony Tunes characters who, respectively, stalked and protected the sheep. On the clock, they’re rivals; off the clock, they’re buddies.

After the Sunset has a good script and flashes of humor that make for an interesting show. There’s not much in the way of cool gadgets and other heist movie necessities, but the lead performances make up for that.

© 2005 Silver Screen Reviews