Out of Sight

Amazon.com essential video

Out of Sight scored critical raves, but its title sums up the theatrical fate of Steven Soderbergh's coolly comic crime caper and misfit romance based on Elmore Leonard's novel. But this is the sort of buried treasure home video was created to rescue.

George Clooney comes into his own as a leading man in the role of inveterate bank robber Jack Foley. Incarcerated, he uses another inmate's prison break as a cover for his own escape. Waiting for him, according to plan, is his partner, Buddy (Ving Rhames). Also waiting for him, not according to plan, is federal agent Karen Sisco (the ravishing Jennifer Lopez). She finds herself disarmed in more ways than one when she is deposited in the getaway car's trunk with Jack. But that doesn't stop her from joining the task force created to capture him, while he plans "one last heist."

Out of Sight is a rich, entertaining film, stylish without being showy, faithful to the integrity of Leonard's potent dialogue and quirky characters, and seamlessly acted by a dream ensemble. Standouts include Albert Brooks as convicted insider trader Richard Ripley, who while in prison brags to the wrong people that he has $5 million in uncut diamonds hidden in his house; Don Cheadle as Maurice (don't call him "Snoopy") Miller, with whom Jack warily teams up to steal said diamonds; Dennis Farina as Karen's protective father (his idea of a birthday gift is a Sig-Hauer .38); and, in unbilled cameos, Michael Keaton, reprising his Jackie Brown role as FBI agent Ray Nicolet, and Samuel L. Jackson.

If you liked Get Shorty and Jackie Brown, you'll find this, well, Out of Sight. --Donald Liebenson

Amazon.com

Out of Sight was one of the best movies of 1998, but ironically this superior crime comedy was a box-office disappointment. Fortunately the movie can enjoy a long life on home video, where it can be savored by anyone who missed its original release. Making his best film since 1989's sex, lies, and videotape, director Steven Soderbergh pays tribute to the signature wit and intricacy of Elmore Leonard's novel, brilliantly adapted by Scott Frank, the gifted screenwriter who previously adapted Leonard's Get Shorty. The movie's a prime showcase for the talent and chemistry of George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, respectively playing a career bank robber who's escaped from jail and the federal agent who falls for his charms while tracking him down. Soderbergh directs with confident visual flair, shifting time- lines (à la Pulp Fiction) to weave together subplots and maintain vivid focus on Leonard's splendid characters and smooth-as-silk dialogue. While the sexy repartée between Clooney and Lopez recalls the vintage interplay of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Ving Rhames and Steve Zahn add ample comic relief as Clooney's accomplices. Dennis Farina is memorable as Lopez's father, and Albert Brooks is almost unrecognizable as a Wall Street crook whose mansion--and a cache of uncut diamonds--provides the setting for the film's climactic caper. As orchestrated by Soderbergh, the film offers a feast of plot twists and surprises, but it never loses track of its delightful characters and the clever wit that brings them so vividly to life. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Out of Sight.......2007-07-13

Mining the risqué wit and edgy, intricate plotting of Elmore Leonard's novel, this cool, stylish crime-caper romance by the director of "sex, lies, and videotape" is designed solely for one purpose: to entertain. Clooney, trying to escape bush-league fame on TV's "ER," projects all the bad-boy self-confidence and irresistible charm that would soon make him a screen idol. Lopez is tough but alluring too, a sultry match for Clooney's charismatic, calculating Jack Foley. Strong, quirky support from Catherine Keener, Luis Guzman, Ving Rhames, and especially Don Cheadle (as a psychotic inmate) keep things rolling. Don't let this funky heist flick "Out of Sight."

HD DVD gives film rich upgrade.......2007-06-17

Out of Sight is one of my favorite Clooney flicks- George Clooney in an Elmore Leonard flick with the typical set of convoluted characters in both high and low places is a fun film. The Universal HD-DVD is gorgeous! The rich colors of Miami pop on my big screen tv at 1080i and remind me why I can't be bothered to spend $10 per ticket to go to a theater anymore!
I liked the fact that Universal doesn't clutter up the disk with any annoying intros that you can't fast forward through- Warner Brothers does that.

Better than I expected.......2007-05-02

I first saw this movie in a cheap second-run theater in Columbus, Ohio, where nothing else I remotely wanted to see was playing. On the way in, I was highly skeptical about the combined talents of Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney.

On the way out, I was hailing Clooney as the new Cary Grant, and had a fresh appreciation for Lopez' charms. This sharp, clever film offers a host of pleasures--suspense, romance, and some witty dialogue. The story is not always told chronologically, but the narrative quirkiness adds to the movie's appeal.

After seeing Out of Sight, I started to seek out all of director Steven Soderbergh's movies, and have found almost all of them as consistently entertaining.

great movie for multiple viewing.......2007-04-09

I saw this movie for umpteenth time just recently (my seventh, I think). George Clooney (Good Night, Good Luck,
O Brother, Where Art Thou?) is delicious in it, Jennifer Lopez (The Wedding Planner, Selena) proves her rising star power, and Steven Soderberg (The Good German, Ocean's Eleven) as a director manages to delight, as always. This movie never ages and the jokes never become old. I could watch it over and over and be entertained.

Wonderful!.......2007-04-04

One of George Clooney's best movies! The chemistry between George and Jennifer Lopez is wonderful and the dialogue is crisp and clean. A lot of sexual tension between them and they pull it off wonderfully!

Oh, and the bathtub scene with George is not to be missed!

Great movie!!

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