Plot: What’s it about?
Robert McDougal (Sean Connery) is a master thief, and even though he is getting a bit long in the tooth, his name still holds a place among the elite of the profession. In other words, whenever a priceless painting or artifact comes up missing, McDougal is the first name mentioned. Virginia Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a young insurance investigator, who has studied McDougal’s work for a while now, and attempts to learn his patterns and technique. She soon gets the chance to study him very closely, when her employer sends her on a mission to track him down, and discover whether or not he has valuable painting that was recently stolen. Once she meets up with him, we learn that she uses her profession merely as a smoke screen for her own thievery, and asks McDougal to put her through the paces to improve her skills. McDouglas is reluctant to trust her, since there is no honor among thieves, and keeps everything within sight as far as Virginia goes. His tensions ease after the two successfully steal an artifact from a museum, and Virginia offers McDougal a cut into one of the biggest heists of all time, worth a cool eight billion dollars! In order to pull off this legendary heist, the two are forced to trust each other, with their lives hanging in the balance, but will their trust be rewarded, or is this just part of another scam?
With Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the leading roles, you know the movie is pack some serious punch, mixing action, suspense, and sex appeal all into one movie. Connery (The Rock, Goldfinger) is nothing short of a film icon, who can still pack the place with his presence. And of course, Zeta-Jones pulls in the male populace, although her acting still has plenty of room for improvement. Zeta-Jones (The Haunting, The Mask of Zorro) may not have depth as an actress, but her performance here is quite adequate, relying more on charisma than skill. The two work very well together, and their chemistry is what makes the movie so good. It’s also of note how well the two actors keep their distance, working as two thieves, as opposed to a team, which is also vital to the movie. The supporting cast consists of smaller, but still important roles, played by Will Patton (Armageddon, The Postman), Kevin McNally (Poldark, Cry Freedom), David Yip (Ping Pong), and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction, Mission Impossible). The director of Entrapment, Jon Amiel, also directed such films as Sommersby, Copycat, and The Man Who Knew Too Little.
This movie was one of Fox’s best selling titles, so they opted to cancel the previous edition, and release a brand new special edition! This new version not only contains a wealth of supplemental materials, but also a newly struck anamorphic widescreen transfer. Even the menus are better, with some excellent movie themed animated ones this time around. It’s no wonder this title was such a hit with the home video crowd, the visuals and audio are outstanding, and things only get better with this new edition. The movie itself is also impressive, boasting two of the hottest leads in the business, and a well crafted storyline to boot. While the movie is very stylish, there’s substance under that flash, and the movie is an enjoyable one all around. I commend Fox for taking the time to create a worthy disc for such a wonderful flick, and they didn’t even raise the price on us. I recommend the movie very highly, and now I can finally recommend a purchase, but make sure you choose the new special edition, instead of the original bare bones release.
Video: How does it look?
Entrapment is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This new transfer was created for this special edition, and is vastly superior to the previous incarnation. The colors are replicated very well, with bright hues and no bleeding or other problems. Contrast levels are super sharp, rendering each shadow in perfect form and displaying a very high level of visible detail. The disc loses most of the shimmering present in the first release as well.
Audio: How does it sound?
While there is some audio dynamite in this movie, for the most part the dialogue and subtle surround use rules the speakers. Now, some scenes will light up your system, and when they do, you’ll know it. One audio element that uses the surrounds well is the score, which fits the movie’s tone perfectly. The subtle surround use really helps set the atmosphere for the film, which is quite effective. Dialogue comes across well, with no volume issues, and the words never become overshadowed.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Man, if you are an Entrapment maniac, you’ll be pleased as punch when you pick this disc up. Fox has loaded this shiny disc top to bottom with goodies, including two theatrical trailers, a gallery of television spots, production notes, and talent files. I am very glad Fox included the trailers and television spots, as these really help get a feel for how the movie was marketed. A few deleted scenes are offered, including an alternate ending. Except for the alternate ending, you can opt for director’s commentary over the deleted scenes if you choose to. A featurette and director’s commentary are also included. The featurette runs about fourteen minutes in duration and consists of interviews and behind the scenes footage. The commentary is very amusing, as Amiel knows the perfect blend of humor and information, making it a very interesting and entertaining listen.
