Jamie Foxx is one of those few comic actors who has a certain charm that makes just about anything he does decent. In fact, he's the only thing that really holds together Bait, which at best, seems like a direct-to-video that only made it to the screen due to Foxx.
Foxx stars as Alvin Anderson, an unsuccessful small-time con man who gets jailed for an absurd crime and is chosen to be equipped with an experimental tracking device. He's then used as bait to bring down gold heister Hutchinson.
While Bait appears to have been meant as a star vehicle for Foxx, it makes little use of the actor's comedic charm and instead chooses to spend too much time on its dumb, meandering plot. None of the characters feel genuine, cliches abound, including an all-too-familiar digital readout from a time bomb, a team of government officials wearing headsets and clicking away at computers, who end up look more like Time Life Book operators than agents, and a hard-assed, humorless cop bent on just capturing the criminal. Then there's Hutchinson's cool, deadpan delivery as the computer mastermind who resembles John Malkovich not only in appearance but in menace, feeling like he was lifted right out of In The Line Of Fire. None of these things offer innovation and make the movie pretty stale.
Jamie Foxx's character is the only worthwhile reason to sit through this pedestrian action/comedy effort. He's fun, sexy, has a likeable air around him, and generally gives good comedic delivery. If you don't like his character at the beginning, give it time. Once gets over on the cops in one standout scene, you will. Jamie Foxx is a star just waiting to be made, if only he could be blessed with a good script. Bait makes little use of his talent, but it would be nothing without him.
5 out of 10
Foxx stars as Alvin Anderson, an unsuccessful small-time con man who gets jailed for an absurd crime and is chosen to be equipped with an experimental tracking device. He's then used as bait to bring down gold heister Hutchinson.
While Bait appears to have been meant as a star vehicle for Foxx, it makes little use of the actor's comedic charm and instead chooses to spend too much time on its dumb, meandering plot. None of the characters feel genuine, cliches abound, including an all-too-familiar digital readout from a time bomb, a team of government officials wearing headsets and clicking away at computers, who end up look more like Time Life Book operators than agents, and a hard-assed, humorless cop bent on just capturing the criminal. Then there's Hutchinson's cool, deadpan delivery as the computer mastermind who resembles John Malkovich not only in appearance but in menace, feeling like he was lifted right out of In The Line Of Fire. None of these things offer innovation and make the movie pretty stale.
Jamie Foxx's character is the only worthwhile reason to sit through this pedestrian action/comedy effort. He's fun, sexy, has a likeable air around him, and generally gives good comedic delivery. If you don't like his character at the beginning, give it time. Once gets over on the cops in one standout scene, you will. Jamie Foxx is a star just waiting to be made, if only he could be blessed with a good script. Bait makes little use of his talent, but it would be nothing without him.
5 out of 10