Gambit is a light, breezy, humorous take on the heist genre that's uneven and a bit half-baked, but overall satisfying. Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine lend enough star-power and terrific acting to make this worthwhile, but I'm not sure it would have stood on its own otherwise.
The story is Caine is a thief and a conman and he recruits MacLaine in a night club to help him on a heist because she resembles the deceased wife of his current target. Neither MacLaine nor Caine are what they seem at first and this leads to plot twists and surprises aplenty. It's fun seeing their characters reveal themselves through the film.
Unfortunately, when all is revealed it's only somewhat satisfying. The inevitable romance aspect is very under-cooked and feels a bit thrown together in service of the plot when it happens. Also, MacLaine's character turns aren't explained through the film and, I think, were leaning on her Hollywood stardom to explain. She suddenly transforms from a flighty airhead to being knowledgeable about art, for example. This initially made me wonder if she was pulling a fast one on Caine, but no, the sudden appearance of her poised, sophisticated and crafty side is never explained. It just happens.
Despite these flaws, I was still very entertained.
The story is Caine is a thief and a conman and he recruits MacLaine in a night club to help him on a heist because she resembles the deceased wife of his current target. Neither MacLaine nor Caine are what they seem at first and this leads to plot twists and surprises aplenty. It's fun seeing their characters reveal themselves through the film.
Unfortunately, when all is revealed it's only somewhat satisfying. The inevitable romance aspect is very under-cooked and feels a bit thrown together in service of the plot when it happens. Also, MacLaine's character turns aren't explained through the film and, I think, were leaning on her Hollywood stardom to explain. She suddenly transforms from a flighty airhead to being knowledgeable about art, for example. This initially made me wonder if she was pulling a fast one on Caine, but no, the sudden appearance of her poised, sophisticated and crafty side is never explained. It just happens.
Despite these flaws, I was still very entertained.