Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Nicolas Cage | ... | Memphis Raines | |
Giovanni Ribisi | ... | Kip Raines | |
Angelina Jolie | ... | Sara 'Sway' Wayland | |
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T.J. Cross | ... | Mirror Man (as TJ Cross) |
William Lee Scott | ... | Toby | |
Scott Caan | ... | Tumbler | |
James Duval | ... | Freb | |
Will Patton | ... | Atley Jackson | |
Delroy Lindo | ... | Det. Roland Castlebeck | |
Timothy Olyphant | ... | Detective Drycoff | |
Chi McBride | ... | Donny Astricky | |
Robert Duvall | ... | Otto Halliwell | |
Christopher Eccleston | ... | Raymond Calitri | |
Vinnie Jones | ... | The Sphinx | |
Grace Zabriskie | ... | Helen Raines |
In exchange for his little brother's life, the reformed car thief, Randall "Memphis" Raines, has to do the impossible: in less than three days, he has to steal not one, but fifty exotic supercars for the ruthless crime lord, Ray Calitri. To stand a chance of pulling off this intricate and time-sensitive grand theft auto, once more, Memphis has to rely on his old gang--his knowledgeable mentor, Otto; the old friends, Sphinx and Donny; his reluctant ex-girlfriend, Sway, and a band of tech-savvy young thieves--however, the police are already onto them. Now, fast Lamborghinis, precious Ferraris, luxurious Porsches, and Eleanor--a rare Ford Shelby Mustang GT500--are just some of the cars in Raines' long list. Can Memphis execute the perfect car heist? Written by Nick Riganas
Also, poor Nicholas Cage, I knew him well... Once upon a time (possibly in Las Vegas) he was a Box Office heavyweight. Now... well, you can probably pick up one of his latest films from those buckets you find of DVDs for £2.99 in petrol stations. However, before his decent into depressingly-bad cinema, he made some pretty fun films. Yes, he's won an Oscar in his time for his deep and meaningful acting, but you won't find any of that here. Just fun.
Nicholas Cage plays (basically) Nicholas Cage – only a Nicholas Cage who used to steal expensive cars, only to retire. However, his loose cannon of a brother steals (or doesn't steal – I forget – it doesn't matter!) for (or from) the wrong mobster in L.A. meaning Nicholas Cage the now not-so retired car thief must steal a load of flash motors in one night or his brother ends up in the car crusher (literally!).
If you like fast cars driving even faster (and, judging by the 'Fast and the Furious' franchise a lot of people do) then this one is basically for you. It's an action film and it's pretty much by the numbers, but, when it's such fun, who cares? Everyone cranks their performances up to eleven and it all comes across as one of those adorable eighties and nineties 'over-the-top' action flicks (yes, I know it was made it in 2000, but it sure feels like a nineties movie) with a real cartoony vibe to it. You have Christopher Ecleston plays the 'evil Brit villain' much like any other evil Brit villains you've seen in cinema. Vinnie Jones and Angelina Jolie are on hand to show their faces, but feel a little underused for what they could have been.
Ultimately, it's all on Nicholas Cage's manic shoulders and he does the film proud. It's loud, dumb and it's basically one long car crash that you'll probably be unable to tear your eyes away from.