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Suparn Verma

Gone In 60 Seconds. That's exactly how long it takes you to purge this movie from your mind after you leave the theatre.

The film's maker, Jerry Bruckheimer, specialised, with Don Simpson, in movies with a one line story. They began their Hollywood tryst, with Top Gun and, over the years, honed their technique -- the story line got slimmer but retained the thrill-a-minute feature, while the characters remained larger-than-life and, sometimes, memorable.

Bruckheimer retained their patented formula even after Simpson passed away -- witness The Rock, Con Air, Enemy Of The State, Armageddon and, now, Gone In 60 Seconds.

Gone... is Nicholas Cage's third outing -- after The Rock and Con Air -- with Bruckheimer. Of the three, The Rock is the best, followed by Con Air and Gone...

Keeping in the Bruckheimer-Simpson tradition, we'll sum up story in a line. A car thief gone straight is blackmailed to steal 54 cars in four days. He, instead, pulls it off in 24 hours.

The film is a remake of a low budget 70's flick by the same name. The only difference: this one has a bigger budget, three Oscar winners -- Cage, Angelina Jolie and Robert Duvall -- 54 awesome-looking cars, some spunky characters with attitude, cool gizmos, on-the-edge cinematography, laser-edge editing and a pulsating music score.

Those were some of its plus points. Here are some more...

It's a fast paced movie, leaving you no time to think. It has some really cool stunts, a great chase sequence and tips for wannabe car thieves.

Flipwise, you never feel the threat to Cage's brother's life since he is allowed to go free till the deadline. And none of the characters are developed. All Jolie does is pout, look sexy and exclaim a plethora of awesome lines like 'Ummm', 'Ahhh' and 'Yeahhh!' Duvall is sincere, but wasted. While Cage's character is a mix of cool, confused and intense. You wish he'd make up his mind and be just one of these.

Except for the last four cars, the first 50 are stolen effortlessly despite the obstacle of an obsessed cop. But hey, it's Hollywood, and everything in this movie is big, including the crashes. So sit back enjoy the ride. And while you are at it, don't miss this chance to ogle at the rare 1967 Mustang GT 500.