Bait (2000) Movie Review

Bait is a pretty enjoyable action comedy. The film opens with a robbery of the Federal Reserve going wrong between two thieves and the 42 million dollars in gold that they stole. One of the thieves, John Jaster (Pastorelli), is caught but not before stashing away all of the gold. The other thieve, Bristol (Hutchison), who was the mastermind of the robbery is left angered by being left empty handed. In steps U.S. Treasury Dept. investigator Clenteen (Morse) to question Jaster about the whereabouts of the gold. Unexpectedly, Jaster dies of heart failure during the questioning. Clenteen's only source left to the gold is Jaster's cellmate, Alvin Sanders (Foxx), who is an in and out of jail wisecracking young man. Unable to receive any knowledge from Alvin of where the gold is, Clenteen is awarded the power to implant a new government-tracking device into Alvin's jawbone. Now out of prison, Alvin Sanders is unknowingly bait for the government to attempt to capture Bristol and find the gold.

Bait is nothing spectacular, but it is a good action film that has some funny moments.

Antoine Fuqua called the shots as director of Bait. Fuqua is a former music video and commercial director that made his film directorial debut with The Replacement Killers. Fuqua's direction in The Replacement Killers was stylish and flashy, but there was something missing. However, with Bait he does an admirable job with all the different shots and aspects of the film. I really thought that his action scenes were to the point and equivalent. What I mean is that the action scenes didn't drag on by means of various angular shots and too much slow motion.

Three writers, Andrew Scheinman, Adam Scheinman and Tony Gilroy created the script for Bait. The script seemed to be original with some similarities to other films, but not over taken by too many cliches. The whole government-tracking device did in a way seem like Enemy of the State. However, the sequencing and the ways that Alvin figures things out along with the intelligence of the bad guy are what stand out in the script. The film's climax is somewhat typical for an action film, but I still liked it. The writers also made the characters colorful, like with Clenteen always having headaches or Alvin as a thief of shrimp, no prans. The overall script isn't great, but it works.

I really hope that Jamie Foxx hits it big. I enjoyed his work on In Living Color and he really impressed me with his acting in Any Given Sunday. He delivers an amusing performance in Bait as Alvin. Foxx is more believable with his characters than some of the actors he might be compared to, like Martin Lawrence or Chris Tucker. Foxx is better than his comparisons and you can certainly tell that he takes his acting more seriously. I have always thought of David Morse as a "cool" actor. In which his role in Bait is definitely a David Morse role. He is a very flexible actor and he is at his best when he is superior (like in The Crossing Guard) and ensemble (like in The Green Mile). David Morse is a good actor to have in any cast. Doug Hutchison delivers an in-depth and dark performance as the psychopathic thief, Bristol. Hutchison should have received an Oscar nomination last year for his role as the pest Percy in The Green Mile. This actor has got some serious skills and I can't wait to see what he will deliver next.

If you are looking for a good time of laughs, action and some thrills, I recommend seeing Bait. It is better than most of the action films of last summer, like Mission: Impossible 2, Shaft and Gone in Sixty Seconds. Bait is nothing special, but very likeable.