Salma Hayek boosts the babe factor with countless scenes of her character, Lola Cirillo, clad in a collection of bikinis and other similarly accentuating clothing. Lola and Brosnan's Max Burdett are a pair of jewel thieves savoring life in tropical bliss off the proceeds of their highly successful careers. All is not as it seems, however; predictably, Burdett soon bores of his idyllic but unchallenging existence. It takes the convenient entrance of FBI agent Stan Lloyd (Woody Harrelson sadly reduced to caricature), who has been repeatedly frustrated by the couple, to reinvigorate Burdett. Having resorted to pickpocketing padded tourists, Burdett's interest is naturally piqued by Lloyd's belief that Burdett is about to purloin the third Napoleon diamond from a passing cruise ship. The combination of the temptation of one last score and the intrinsic value of the diamond unsurprisingly draws Burdett in, setting the stage for the "king of alibis" to strut his stuff.
Brosnan provides the movie with much of its gloss, and the Bahamian setting certainly doesn't hurt. The depiction of the postcard Caribbean paradise looks as though it must have passed the stringent natural beauty standards of "Lonely Planet," but its leisurely mood ultimately takes away from the excitement of the "job." The movie's credibility is hardly helped by the inclusion of Hayek in a blatant appeal for hot-blooded males. As satisfying as that might be for viewers with expectations aligned to cleavage, it is much less of an intellectual ride. While the plotline is efficiently acceptable, it barely constitutes a memorable heist idea.
Perhaps director Brett Ratner's ("Rush Hour 2") greatest mistake is underutilizing the excellent cast. Brosnan in the principle role shows precious little of the complexity that he proved he was capable of in "The Tailor of Panama." One also expects much more from Hayek since her Oscar-nominated turn in "Frida," but Lola lacks sufficient depth to give any real sense of personality barring a patent proclivity for minimal cloth on her body. Don Cheadle's character, too, is a stereotype of a wealthy rival interested in the diamond-a regrettable waste of his considerable talent.
It is also vastly disappointing that Woody Harrelson's ability is misrepresented. Lloyd finds himself in random homoerotic scenarios that Lloyd finds himself in with Burdett-in bed together, rubbing suntan lotion on each other and more of the like. Aside from being clearly low-level humor, these scenes have no bearing on the story whatsoever, instead undermining it with tastelessness. The misplaced humor in much of this film cripples it from the angle of a suitable tone for the heist theme central to films of this genre. Moments of wittiness might contribute to the intelligence of a score, but crass situational comedy merely undermines it.
Cinema-goers looking for an unstimulating way to spend 100 minutes will enjoy "After the Sunset" for its generous showcase of well-toned bods and an uncomplicated setup for the diamond theft. For keen fans of intricate crime movies, though, this is fare that fails to rise above mediocrity. Rent and re-watch "The Italian Job" or "The Score" instead.