Several turns as superspy James Bond stood Sean Connery in good stead to play the aging master thief Robert MacDougal in the suspenseful thriller Entrapment. He can't not be charming.

Catherine Zeta-Jones follows up an excellent performance in Zorro to play yet another action hero -- this time taking every opportunity to display her posterior to best advantage as insurance investigator/thief Gin Baker. (The male members of the audience when I saw the film didn't seem to mind her wide array of artful butt shots in the least. Based on the advertising campaign which preceded Entrapment's release, I suspect the co-star's sensuality was deemed to be a major selling point by the studio as well.)

There are layers within layers in the movie as Y2K approaches, grand schemes unfold and viewers try to determine who's on whose side and who has what agenda.

There are, unfortunately, a few gaping holes in the plot. Foremost among them is the math upon which Baker hopes to hinge the biggest heist of the century. Someone along the way should have used a calculator to check her figures -- but apparently everyone was too distracted by her figure to care.

Still, anyone willing to overlook such trifles will still enjoy the suspense and the spectacle. Entrapment is a worthwhile way to spend a few hours so long as you don't ponder too hard on the details.

[ by Tom Knapp ]