Gone in 60 Seconds - a Film Review

Gone in 60 Seconds is an action film that features Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie. Cage plays a character that has to steal fifty cars in one night in order to save his brother's life. Although I genuinely enjoyed the characters and action scenes in Gone in 60 Seconds, numerous critics that pointed out various flaws in the characterization while the action scenes received mixed reviews. Critics were not impressed with the characterization in this movie.

Character development and originality are aspects that movie critics analyze when determining the quality of a film. James Berardinelli, a movie critic, described the characterization in Gone in 60 Seconds as "lame" and explained, "...characters and emotional motivation (utterly absent from the original) is lame and programmatic..." He is referring to the dull character building that is created through what he describes as laughably bad dialogue. Berardinelli even goes on to say that the characters are paper thin and tearing at the edges. Catherine Tunnacliffe, another critic, agreed with the notion that the characters in the movie had no substance and did not get the audience emotionally involved. Although I agree with Berardinelli and Tunnacliffe that the character development in the film is lackluster, I enjoyed the characters despite the corny dialogue. Critics also pointed out other factors that made the characterization in this movie dull.

In addition to the boring character development in the movie, character clichés created more negative reviews for Gone in 60 Seconds. Cynthia Fuchs, another movie critic, named each cliché individually when she pointed out a reluctant all-American hero, wounded babe, endangered relative, crusty old-timer, Euro-trash villain, and dogged but outclassed cops all found in the movie. Fuchs and Berardinelli both felt that the characters were unoriginal and boring. Even though the critics described the characters this way, I thought the characters were creative. The critics that praised the movie in its entirety rarely mentioned these poorly created characterizations at all. Instead, these critics focused on the potency of the action scenes.

A couple critics praised the action scenes in the movie which were described as explosive with gut-checking special effects. A movie critic, James Sanford, remarked, "...looks sensational, with sharp photography, masterful editing and lighting that makes it seem as if everyone is always standing next to a pastel-colored neon sign." He liked the technical work done by the movie director to make the action scenes more exciting. Critics were also pleased with the energy created that commenced the action scenes. Catherine Tunnacliffe, another critic, refers to the expressions used along with the use of the song "Low Rider" that initiated the action scenes. She thinks these small contributions strengthened the quality and originality of the scenes. Tunnacliffe was just as pleased with the thrilling story line and effects while noting, "Though the car chases live up