A moment where Brosnan quietly retracts his fishing pole says volumes about the sadness at the so-to-speak root of this testosterone opera.
After the Sunset (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:135
Fresh:25
Rotten:110
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: A slick but bland thriller.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: The high-stakes action comedy After The Sunset begins where most great heist movies end – with a pair of master thieves escaping to a tropical paradise to enjoy the spoils of their labor. But when... The high-stakes action comedy After The Sunset begins where most great heist movies end – with a pair of master thieves escaping to a tropical paradise to enjoy the spoils of their labor. But when an FBI agent, who has pursued them for seven years, becomes convinced that they are actually plotting to pull off a million-dollar theft from a nearby "diamond cruise," a riveting game of cat and mouse begins. Max "The King of Alibis" Burdett (Pierce Brosnan) and his beautiful accomplice Lola (Salma Hayek) have come to Paradise Island in the Bahamas, fresh off their final big score in which they lifted the second of the three famous Napoleon diamonds. With their financial future set, the couple is ready to relax and enjoy their hard-earned riches. But Stan (Woody Harrelson), the FBI agent who has spent years in dogged but failed pursuit of Max, refuses to believe that his nemesis is actually calling it quits. He thinks that Max and Lola are actually plotting to steal the third Napoleon diamond – one of the three largest non-flawed diamonds in the world – which is coincidentally scheduled to arrive on Paradise Island as part of a touring cruise ship exhibition. Since he has no jurisdiction in the Caribbean country, Stan teams with a local cop (Naomie Harris) and sets out to catch the sly Max and Lola in the act, while at the same time a local gangster (Don Cheadle) has his own plans for the diamond. When the longtime adversaries meet up in paradise, Max quickly turns the tables and befriends the frustrated detective, showing him that Paradise Island has no shortage of pleasures to offer. But in order for Stan to figure out exactly what Max and Lola are up to, he will have to navigate all the twists and double-crosses of an action-packed story of friendship, suspicion and thievery. New Line Cinema presents After the Sunset, directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, Red Dragon). The cast features Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek and Woody Harrelson, as well as Don Cheadle (Ocean’s 11) and Naomie Harris (28 Days Later). The screenplay is by Paul Zbyszewski and Craig Rosenberg (Jurassic Park 3), from a story by Zbyszewski. The producers are Beau Flynn (Tigerland, Requiem For A Dream), Tripp Vinson and Jay Stern (Rush Hour), with Patrick Palmer (Blade 2, Hellboy) serving as executive producer. The behind-the-scenes team includes two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC (The Insider, LA Confidential, Heat) and editor Mark Helfrich, ACE (Rush Hour 2, Family Man), both of whom worked with director Brett Ratner on Red Dragon. Other key crew includes production designer Geoffrey Kirkland (Mississippi Burning, Angela’s Ashes) and costume designer Rita Ryack (A Beautiful Mind, Cat in the Hat). New Line Cinema will release After the Sunset (rated PG-13 by the MPAA for "sexuality, violence and language") nationwide on November 12th, 2004. [More]
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson, Don Cheadle
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson, Don Cheadle, Naomie Harris
Director: Brett Ratner
Director: Brett Ratner
Screenwriter: Paul Zbyszewski, Craig Rosenberg
Producer: Beau Flynn, Jay Stern, Tripp Vinson
Composer: Lalo Schifrin
Studio: New Line Cinema
Reviews for After the Sunset
After the Sunset's carat-and-shtick approach is much more decadent than it is delightful.
The plotting of this otherwise workmanlike comedy-adventure is as fundamentally ridiculous as it is predictable and lacking in tension.
Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek play partners-in-crime in a jewel-heist frolic so stale it feels like a retread of a retread.
This indirect rehash of To Catch a Thief trades Hitchcockian shrewdness for the slickest kinds of Hollywood glitz, gloss, and vulgarity.
...could only be more fun if you were able to watch it while relaxing on a beach.
Like many a real sunset, it'll dazzle and entertain, yet soon be forgotten.
After the Sunset is the kind of glossy, Hollywood-forged waste of time that would depress even the most happily lackadaisical retiree.
It's effective stuff -- as far as it goes. But anyone expecting something more from After the Sunset will feel as if they've been robbed.
If you've ever wondered what really is important to an aging jewel thief, After the Sunset at least answers that question amusingly.
With nothing at stake and little mortal peril, Sunset loses most of its dramatic tension.
The plot too frequently gets in the way of indulging in the view. If the picture had been kept a travelogue, it might have been better for all concerned.
Ratner's films chug with the precision of a machine, and with just as little soul.
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