Gone in 60 Seconds

Release Date: June 10th, 2000

Cast :

Director: Dominic Sena   

Never has there been a more fitting of example of how not make a summer action movie.  Gone in 60 Seconds violates so many rules of film making, that future students of the trade should take note of the list below. 

The Always and Never’s of Making a Summer Action Film

Never put more intensity and thought into the preview, than you do in the actual movie.
Always follow through on promises hinted at in the trailers.

Previews for this movie appeared in theaters as early as last fall.  They were filled with humor, intensity and most of all, the promise of great car chases.  Nicholas Cage stealing cars, Angelina Jolie pouting, Delroy Lindo chasing and being foiled, and Robert DuVall thrown in for some supporting spark; a combination of casting that seemed destined for summer fun.  Unfortunately, director Sena, producer Bruckheimer and lead writer Rosenburg blew their creative wad on that trailer.  This movie is a better example of highway robbery than is ever displayed on the screen.  Gone were the chase scenes and adrenaline charge that were prevalent and undoubtedly drew the primarily male populace into the theater seats.  In their place is a convoluted plot, with silly and undeveloped side stories.    Thus bringing up Lesson 2.

Never bog down an action movie with a complicated plot
Always have more time and spent on the action, then the actors participating.

The plot begins simply enough.  Nicholas Cage plays a retired car thief who comes out retirement to steal 50 cars in a specified time period.  If he succeeds, he gains his brothers freedom from a bad guy with a wicked accent.  Had the triumvirate mentioned above stopped at this point and used this basic story to tie together the chase and theft scenes, this could have been a truly enjoyable piece of summer candy.  The plot should exist only to transition from one action scene to the next in a manner that makes relative sense.  Instead the story becomes bogged down with love stories, histories between characters and a cop’s vengeance.  These distract away from the action and thusly diminish the movies purpose and effectiveness.  While that subject is present a short lesson in consistency and reality, Lesson 3.

Never introduce and develop a story, only to abandon it halfway through the film.
Always follow the most logical and sensible steps in a situation.

Both of these lessons have examples.  First of all, there is a subplot involving a rival gang that Cage apparently did wrong during his first run of thievery.  The initial confrontation is believable enough with lots of yelling, threats and such.  However the second time, after being foiled once, what does the gang do?  They point guns and yell more.  The sensible progression would dictate that this gang realizes that words aren’t solving things and simply inflict, rather than inflect.

Secondly, Delroy Lindo’s detective character has a vendetta against Cage.  Apparently Lindo let him get away and retire when he could have busted him and has carried that weight with him ever since.  Once he learns that Cage has returned to the scene of the previous crime, Lindo deduces that Cage is up to something.  He suspects that there is another job in the works and Cage is in on it.  So what does he do?  Logic would dictate a round the clock surveillance on Cage to catch him in the act.  However it didn’t even take 60 seconds for logical thought to disappear here.  Lindo stakes out an obscure address in the hopes of catching Cage in just one of 50 crimes.  Long shot isn’t the word for this style of thinking.  Nonsensical fits much better. While the focus is on characters, Lesson 4 comes into play.

Never cast Nicholas Cage in an action movie.  Period.
Always use your Oscar winners as more than window dressing and robotic humor machines.

When will Bruckheimer learn his lesson?  Hopefully after the failure of this film for its   three strikes and Cage’s career as an action hero is out.  The Rock, Con-Air, and now this have proven that Nick’s strength lies not in his physical presence and ability, but rather in his emotional intensity, and expressions.  His deep-set eyes beg sadness, and reflect the way he feels better than most actors working today.  When he is relegated to an adrenaline-powered puppet, flames and booms are masking his best assets. 

The teasing and prostituting of Angelina Jolie is shameless and should be illegal.  She is used to give the testosterone laden fan base some eye candy to drool over, and little else.  This is a very talented actress whose unbridled should be harnessed and released through emotions, rather than appearance.  Finally Robert Duvall, perennial nominee and little gold statue owner, should not be used to just deliver the occasional one liner or tagline.  Reducing a great character actor to an acerbic humor spouting machine is the final of this movies many casting crimes.

Ultimately, Gone in 60 Seconds is a movie that should be studied more for its failures than for any other reason.  It acknowledges every rule stated above, than blatantly breaks them.  The recipe for success was so simple, but the trio of Sena, Bruckheimer and Rosenburg attempted to raise the bar.  Their failure is monumental, and is now a part of cinematic infamy. ($ out of $$$$)

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