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Starring George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Albert Brooks, Don Cheadle, Dennis
Farina, Tanya Allen, Samuel Jackson, Michael Keaton. Written by Scott Frank. Directed by Steven
Soderbergh. From the book by Elmore Leonard.
Jack (Clooney) is a prolific bank robber with several past stints in the joint. He prides himself on never using a gun in a heist. The film opens with Jack going into a bank in broad daylight and cleverly stealing several thousands in cash, but his getaway car won't start and he gets caught. Jack finds himself in Glades Prison, Florida, and engineers a breakout with the help of his close ex-con sidekick (Rhames). Unfortunately, an FBI agent Karen (Lopez) stumbles into the breakout, shooting a couple of fleeing inmates before being kidnapped in the trunk of her own car with Jack. After discussing the merits of several Faye Dunaway movies, she eventually is let out of the trunk and she gets away. But Jack has made a positive impression on Jennifer, and Jennifer on Jack. Jennifer's dad (Farina) gave her a brand new gun the day of the breakout, and now Jack has it. Not only would she like her gun back, she's determined to bring him in, not least because she's a bit in love with him. Dad doesn't like her two-timing FBI boyfriend (Keaton) much, but he's noticed Jennifer has a thing for this Jack fella, and he's not sure if that is any improvement. Jack broke out of jail to do last one big job in Detroit - steal a fortune in uncut diamonds from a white collar criminal (Brooks) Jack met at Blades. Jennifer leaves Miami to sniff out his trail, and follows him north. But both encounter a bit of trouble in the person of Snoopy (Cheadle), a violent ex-fighter gangster who wants to horn in on Jack's action. From the makers of Get Shorty, and the author of that and Jackie Brown, there is a wealth of talent behind this, and they have created a stylish piece of entertainment. While not quite as funny as Get Shorty, Out of Sight is a bit deeper and introspective. It is essentially a romantic comedy, but with a bit of action and atmosphere to sweeten the pot. Things that shouldn't be funny are, such as one of Snoopy's gang member accidently shooting himself in the head, because of superior foreshadowing, timing and delivery by the cast and director. Soderbergh is not known for action, but for thoughtful, cerebral work, and in this film, he continually heats things up, and then cools them down with romantic interludes, character description and flashbacks indicating their past history together. This is by far George Clooney's best big-screen performance. He is charming with an edge, but shows some vulnerability. He plays a real person, and the script certainly helps him. The chemistry between Clooney and Lopez is quite good - the film shows very little in the sex scenes, but you don't need much to get the idea. Lopez also displays a nice range from tough to tender. Ving Rhames and Cheadle are excellent as usual. Albert Brooks is unrecognizable at first as the rich con artist with a stash of diamonds, but consistently funny. The weakness of the film is in the plot structure itself. While the characters are nicely fleshed out and quite real, the chance that an FBI agent would fall for a jail-breaker, and her dad non-chalantly knowing about it but not really caring too much, and the possibility that any agent would be allowed to follow wanted criminals as she pleases without any supervision from the taskforce she is part of, is all not very likely. You have to suspend your disbelief just a bit, because the film is well-made, well-acted and well-written, and well worth seeing.  
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