BAIT (2000) 1 star out of 4. Starring Jamie Foxx, David Morse, Kimberly Elise, David Paymer and Doug Hutchison. Story by Jeff Nathanson, Andrew Scheinman, Adam Scheinman and Tony Gilroy. Screenplay by Scheinman, Scheinman and Gilroy. Music by Mark Mancina. Directed by Anthony Fuqua. Rated R.
"Bait" is one of those annoying movies in which flash and camera tricks substitute for a lack of substance.
A derivative piece of work, borrowing liberally from such movies as "Enemy of the State" and "Blue Streak," "Bait" also suffers from the sin of indecision. The film can't decide whether it's an action comedy or action thriller, so it tries to be both - falling flat on either count.
The movie stars Jamie Foxx, who performed so well in Oliver Stone's hyper-kinetic "Any Given Sunday." But here Foxx flounders, trying to magically switch from comical to serious not as he character demands, but as the script dictates.
It is not Foxx's fault that he does not succeed. The actor has a screen presence, which is wasted in pap such as "Bait."
As a matter of fact, a line in the movie aptly describes his predictament: "What do you do with bait when you're done with it?"
In this case, you let it founder in a formulaic script that makes about as much sense as naming Bob Knight dean of Miss Manners School of Etiquette.
What is most preposterous about "Bait" is its plot, which begins with the heist of $42 million in gold bullion.
The theft was a two-man job: The mastermind, a computer genius, escapes; the second man - who conveniently has a weak heart - dies before he can tell the feds where he hid the loot.
So the only way to retrieve the gold is to use Foxx's Alvin Sanders as bait. And why Sanders?
Because he spent about eight hours in a holding cell with Mr. Bad Ticker, so the feds think he may have been told where the gold was stashed.
So to find the $42 mil, the government spends about $200 million on newly developed surveillence equipment, including installing a device in Sander's jaw. (This was done by having him beaten in prison so he would need surgery).
Not only is Sanders bugged, but helicopters fly all over the place, seemingly following him wherever he goes, and two or three unmakred vans - also filled with snoop gadgets - are constantly trailing him.
Only the U.S. government would authorize the spending of hundreds of millions to find a measly $42 million. Come to think of it, that's the most plausible aspect of this nonsense.
"Bait "is MTV filmmaking: a lot of quick cuts making it hard to discern who's doing what to whom; loud music that tries to pump up the action; and big, loud explosions, which look like a fireworks display gone mad.
And it is riddled with cliches: the soft-spoken psychopath, computer-nerd (Doug Hutchison); the tough-talking and acting fed (an overwrought David Morse) who's as obsessed as "Les Miz's" Javert to capture the criminal and recover the gold; the car chase in which 150 vehicles are smashed, but no accident reports get filed. You get the idea.
Wasted in this entire outing is the lovely Kimberly Elise, who was so wonderful in "Beloved." Here she plays Alvin's girlfriend. She's an intelligent, self-sufficient woman, which makes it hard to comprehend what she sees in Alvin.
"Bait" is nothing special. At a bit over two hours, it is at least a half-hour too long. The movie is just an excuse to nosh on popcorn. Try not to let this movie hook you.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net Reviews by Bloom can be found on the Internet Movie Database at: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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