Appearing on the big screen in the year 2000, Gone in 60 Seconds was directed by Dominic Sena (Swordsfish), and stars Nicholas Cage, Robert Duval, Vinnie Jones, Giovanni Ribisi, Delroy Lindo and Christopher Eccleston. It concerns a retired car-thief being forced back into action, and pulling off the biggest boost of his life to save his little brother. Most people dislike this film, but I really enjoy it. Before I explain why, let's check out the plot in a little more detail.
The movie opens with Kip Raines (Ribisi) and his crew stealing a Porche from a showroom. Unfortunately, in the exuberant drive back to the warehouse where they are stashing the cars for a boost, they attract the attention of the police, who storm the warehouse.
W discover that Kip was stealing 50 cars for a British crime boss called Raymond Calitri (Eccleston), but since he failed, Calitiri ropes in Kips brother Memphis (Cage), a renowned car thief, and informs Memphis that he will kill Kip if he doesn't agree to boosting the 50 cars. With no choice but to come out of retirement, he assembles old team, including Donny, Otto (Duvall), Sphinx (Jones), former girlfriend Sway (Jolie), and, reluctantly, Kip and his crew, who have some highly desirable skills.
Unlike Kip's attempt at the boost, where the cars are stolen over a period of several days with 'shadow games', Memphis plans to use his old technique, whereby he discovers and scouts the location of the cars (or 'ladies' as they are referred to in the movie), and plans to have them all jacked in 1 night. The idea being that, while it may be dangerous and with little room for error, once the first car is reported stolen, all the cars have been acquired and are ready to be shipped.
But, much to Memphis' chagrin, he is being watched by detective Castlebeck (Lindo), who previously had the chance to arrest him during a prior boost, but never managed to apprehend him, and has held a grudge against him ever since. On top of this, one of the cars on the list, a 1967 Shelby GT-500, dubbed 'Eleanor', is one Memphis has never managed to successfully steal.
So that's it for the synopsis, so why do I enjoy it? Well I think most of all, is it's so easy to watch. Very simple, very linear, but with a lot to offer along the way. I love the wit of many of the characters, particularly Donny. I love the build-up to the boost, the gathering of the characters, some of which leads to several unwanted conflicts, both verbal and physical. I think the bond between Kip and Memphis is pretty well developed, as we see the increasingly perilous risks Memphis takes in order to save his brother's life. Finally, we have the movie's climactic car chase. Many critics referred to it as boring, but personally, it features some of the coolest driving I've ever witnessed in a motion picture.
Rather worryingly, while doing some research for this review, I discovered that the man who directed this film also directed the God-awful 'Season Of The Witch', which starred none other than Nicolas Cage, in one of his most shameful roles to date. But 60 Seconds is one of the good films on his resume. It's well paced, has great action scenes, and never tries to insult your intelligence.
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