Gone in Sixty Seconds Reviewed by Christian Pyle Directed by Dominic Sena Written by Scott Rosenberg (based on the screenplay by H. B. Halicki) Starring Nicolas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi, Angelina Jolie, and Robert Duvall Grade: D+
One of my brother's favorite movies is H. B. Halicki's 1974 cult flick "Gone is Sixty Seconds," one of the best products of the car-chase genre that provided drive-in fare during the 1970's. Chase pics had more tire squeals than dialogue, but they had a strong visceral appeal. Although it boasts a bigger budget and familiar stars, the remake of "Gone in Sixty Seconds" is relatively weak and dull.
Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage) is a retired car thief who runs a go-cart track. He got out of crime so that his younger brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) would not take up boosting cars. However, Kip became a thief anyway, and now he's in big trouble. Kip promised to deliver fifty luxury and sports cars to gangster Raymond Calitri (Christopher Eccleston) by the end of the week. Calitri expects Memphis to fulfill Kip's bargain; if he doesn't come through, Kip dies. Memphis gathers his old crew (Angelina Jolie, Robert Duvall, Will Patton, Chi McBride, and Vinnie Jones), and Kip brings his boys (T.J. Cross, William Lee Scott, Scott Caan, and James Duval). As if Calitri breathing down their necks wasn't bad enough, the team is pursued by a cop (Delroy Lindo) who's still ticked off that he never busted Memphis and by a rival gangster (rap star Master P) who wants to take over Calitri's clients.
Watching "Gone," I discovered that stealing fifty cars is not any more interesting than stealing one. Maybe that's why the first forty-nine are fairly easy, and the thrills are saved for "Eleanor," a 1967 Shelby GTO, a model that has always eluded Memphis. But the big chase doesn't live up to the long wait.
I had high hopes for "Gone" because it is director Dominic Sena's second film. "Kalifornia," his 1993 debut, was a brilliant study in the relationship between violence and its audience. In that movie Sena took a simple thriller plot (a couple gives a serial killer a ride) and successfully endowed it with deeper significance. In "Gone" he seems to be aiming for a drama about two brothers who can't communicate with each other, but that goal just doesn't mesh with this plot.
"Gone" either takes itself too seriously or not seriously enough. It's not light enough to be fun, or mean enough to be intense. This chaser has more dialogue than tire squeals but is none the better for it. The lack of action is a waste of the premise, which should have challenged the filmmakers to create the most spectacular car chases ever. The weak script is a waste of a talented cast.
In a "Newsweek" interview last year, Sean Penn blasted his old pal Nic Cage for making bad movies. Much as I like Cage, for every good picture he does ("Leaving Las Vegas," "Bringing Out the Dead"), there are two major stinkers ("Snake Eyes," "Con Air," "8MM," "City of Angels"). That ratio is probably better than what a lot of his peers can boast, but Cage has real talent. It's a shame to waste it in glitzy, superficial tripe like "Gone in 60 Seconds."
Bottom line: Let it go.
© 2000 Christian L. Pyle
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