Review of Out of Sight (1998) by Aaron N — 19 Aug 2008

Karen Sisco: Oh, that's right, you have my wallet. Why don't you come by the house, you can drop it off?

Jack Foley: Sure, I'll leave it with the S.W.A.T. guy who answers the door.

An all around cool movie. The first pairing of Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney, and their best.

The plot surrounds an escaped bank robber who plots to make a score with his friend, mixed with an unforeseen romance with a US Marshall and some other seedy characters from a past time.

The way the film moves along is so slick, cool, easy and fun. Clooney, himself, is at his best here, a combination of suave, smarts and thug, all of it is pulled off great, as he plays a bank robber who escapes from jail and doesn't want to go back.

Jennifer Lopez is here in the best movie of her career and plays as a perfect counter balance to Clooney's charisma, she too is smart and sexy, as a US Marshall who after a brief encounter with Clooney's character, continues to follow him, so they can hopefully fulfill what sparked with their initial chemistry.

Then you have the supporting cast that include Ving Rhames as Clooney's oldest friend, Buddy, who helped him rob banks.

Maurice "Snoopy" Miller: Well, the man don't just have to die, Foley. I mean, he could accidentally hurt himself falling down on something real hard, you know? Like a shiv, or my dick?

Don Cheadle as another thug who mixes his evil nature with the coolness that is Cheadle in general. He and Clooney share some of the best dialogue that is a combination of tension, wit, sharpness, and menace.

Jack Foley: Give me a minute to talk to Buddy.

Maurice "Snoopy" Miller: You got two minutes, that's all. Make up your mind, Foley.

Jack Foley: I wasn't asking permission.

Steve Zahn, Dennis Farina, Catherine Keener, Isaiah Washington, Luis Guzman and Albert Brooks also show up, rounding out the great principle cast as a couple of people all related by a stint in Lompoc and the main characters.

Even Michael Keaton shows up in a small role, returning as his character from Jackie Brown, which further shows the cool nature of this movie. There is also one more cameo towards the end that is totally appropriate for the film.

Jack Foley: Uh oh.

Maurice "Snoopy" Miller: You're fucked up now, man. That's Himey. Protege of mine. Ranked number thirty-two in the federal prison system.

Jack Foley: Thirty-two?

Maurice "Snoopy" Miller: That's right.

Jack Foley: Outta what? Twenty?

The story is adapted from a novel by Elmore Leonard who has a gift for dialogue, where it is used to progress most of the plot next to the minimal action, but is also sharp, strong, menacing, quick and funny.

The soundtrack is also great, from David Holmes who also did the music for Soderbergh's Ocean's series, combining elements of jazz, Motown, and some other good beats in general.

The movie is a lot of fun, with great chemistry between the characters, great dialogue, with people acting appropriate in many realistic situations as well, mixed with the cinematic style that Soderbergh is very good at. I can easily watch this over and over again, its just very cool and great fun to watch.

Jack Foley: I know a guy who walks into a bank with a little glass bottle. He tells everyone it's nitroglycerin. He scores some money off the teller, walks out. On his way out, the bottle breaks, he slips on it and knocks himself out. The "nitro" was Canola oil. I know more fucked-up bank robbers than ones who know what they're doing. I doubt if one in twenty could tell you where the dye pack is. Most bank robbers are fucking morons.