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Selma Hayek is Max's partner in crime

Then there are the moments where the film, written by Paul Zbyszewski (TV's The Weakest Link) and Craig Rosenberg (Hotel de Love), aims for pure laughs, some of which hit the mark—especially when Max looks for ways to embarrass Stan and foil his schemes—and others of which are just too silly for words, such as the way Stan not only shoots a shark but actually tells the shark it has the right to remain silent. Brosnan also evidently enjoys subverting his macho image by playing up the homo–erotic subtext to his scenes with Harrelson—Stan is, after all, trying to "seduce" Max into committing one more crime so that he can catch him red–handed—but while there is definite potential in the film's suggestion that Max is "cheating" on Lola by going against her wishes, this running gag ends up a tad contrived.

Add to this a few undercooked side characters—including a gangster (Don Cheadle) who claims half–heartedly that he does what he does for the little people, and a no–nonsense cop (28 Days Later's Naomie Harris) who inexplicably falls for the bumbling Stan—plus the fact that we are given little reason to care about the relationship between Max and Lola, beyond the fact that she is really sexy and he doesn't seem to mind. With so little invested in the characters, and a plot that doesn't make much sense, and some wildly uneven shifts in tone, After the Sunset is the sort of movie that may not find its ideal audience until channel–surfing insomniacs discover it late some evening, long, long after sunset indeed.

1. What do you make of the way Max handles temptation? Is there anything he should have done differently? Is it possible to resist the temptation to commit old sins when there has been no repentance for the sins already committed?
2. What about Lola's efforts to distract Max from his temptation? What do these two characters have in common, now that they no longer steal jewels together? What are they lacking in their relationship?
3. How does the film manipulate our sympathies towards the characters? Before they retired, Lola was a thief just as much as Max was—do you think better of her, because she is content to stay retired, whereas Max is still itching for one last job?

After the Sunset is rated PG–13 for sexuality, violence and language. Lola is filmed in various states of partial dress and undress—not quite enough for an R rating, apparently, but close—and there are various references to pre–marital and extra–marital sex. A gangster surrounds himself with unsavory characters. A few bullets are fired, but there's only a little blood, and one or two fatalities.

Photos © Copyright New Line Cinema

Films like The Thomas Crown Affair, Ocean's Eleven, and The Italian Job have brought heist movie to new heights of popularity, and this holiday season looks to continue the trend. After the Sunset follows hard on the heels of Criminal and precedes Ocean's Twelve by just a few weeks. In doing so, it reminds us that Criminal was pretty good, and makes us hope that Ocean's Twelve is better. Film critics are calling Pierce Brosnan's new thriller less–than–thrilling, derivative, and disposable.

Peter T. Chattaway (Christianity Today Movies) says, "It's a classic premise that has been worked into many kinds of films. But [the director] … can't quite find the right tone for his newest project. With so little invested in the characters, and a plot that doesn't make much sense, and some wildly uneven shifts in tone, After the Sunset is the sort of movie that may not find its ideal audience until channel–surfing insomniacs discover it late some evening, long, long after sunset indeed."

Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) says it "deviates little from Brosnan's time–tested (and bankable) stereotype. At times I almost felt is if I was watching a racy Remington Steele reunion show, in which the main character had gone bad." He adds, "[It] reminded me of a similar film … 1999's Entrapment. Both films left me wondering if it's possible to tell these kinds of stories without such demeaning, objectifying portrayals of women."

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