Waste of time

Truly Dreadful Film

Fantastic!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The sophomore feature of visual stylist Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day", "Brooklyn's Finest") rotates around a simple, but pretty brill idea. After a bank heist gone awry when psychotic computer whizz Bristol (Doug Hutchison) executes several guards, heavy-duty specialist Jaster escapes in a truck filled with gold. Soon he is captured, however only after the loot has been hidden. During his stay in prison he confides in Alvin Sanders (Jamie Foxx), small time crook caught stealing shrimp, sorry, prawns, from a warehouse. Soon after Jaster unfortunately gets a heart attack during interrogation by agent Edgar Clenteen (David Morse), leaving Sanders to be privy to key knowledge. In an attempt to capture the dangerous Bristol, Sanders is unknowingly bugged and released from prison, as live bait...Fuqua is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing African-American directors out there and here is proof of capabilities, albeit delivery is faulty and jumpy. Much can be attributed to the apparent: Fuqua seems to be a director heavily dependant on source material. Given a good script he will deliver a brilliant movie. However "Bait" possesses only a mediocre one, fraught with lesser plot holes and unfeasible situations. Furthermore Jamie Foxx struggles to capture the role of a talkative Chris Rock wannabee, feeling much better in more dramatic or action-packed sequences, where he excels.Nonetheless a thrilling ride with some stunningly filmed sequences overflowing with potential and well-thought gimmickry. Just needed some polishing in dialogue and plot to push up the satisfaction level to more acceptable levels.

I am amazed at how this movie(and most others has a average 5 stars and lower when there are crappy movies averaging 7 to 10 stars on IMDb. The fanboy mentality strikes again. When this movie came out just about everyone slammed it. Even my ex-girlfriend said this movie questionable. Years later I sat down to watch this movie and I found myself enjoying. Even laughing quite a bit. This and The Replacement Killers are the movies that had people labeling the director Antoine Fuqua as the black Michael Bay. I don't see how since most of Fuqua's movies are smarter than anything Michael Bay has came up with. At any rate...Story: Alvin Sanders(Jamie Foxx) is former convict that is used by a no-nonsense Treasury agent Edgar(David Morse) as a pawn to catch a killer named Bristol(Doug Hutchinson). Alvin's every moves are tracked by a bug implanted in his jaw after an accident. While these agents are after Bristol, Bristol is after the gold bricks that were taken in a heist gone awry.Jamie Foxx is funny as well as great as Alvin Sanders. Alvin is a fast-talker that is a lot smarter than he lets on. Doug Hutchinson is okay as Bristol. He can be over-the-top sometimes in his John Malkovitchesque demeanor. He was better here than he was as Looney Bin Jim in Punisher: War Zone. David Morse is good as the hard edged treasury agent. Even Mike Epps is funny as Alvin's brother Stevie. Both him and Jamie had some funny moments on screen.The only flaw of the movie is the some of the attempts at a thriller fall flat. The scenario at the horse race track is way over-the-top but I couldn't look away. The director went all out there so he gets points for that. Plus the bomb scene with the treasury agent tied to a chair while the detonator rests on the door was pretty nifty.All in all Bait is not a bad movie by a long shot. Its never boring, its always funny and I wasn't checking my watch every minute. That should count for something. Bait is one of the most underrated movies of 2000 period.PS: to the reviewer that claimed this movie is too violent.... How long have you been living under a rock? I'm pretty sure you've seen the Die Hard series and EVERY movie by Quentin Tarantino. But those movies aren't violent right? Weirdo.

This movie had trouble deciding whether it was a comedy or an action thriller. But I don't think I would have enjoyed it if the comedy hadn't been there. I won't say Jamie Foxx showed the talent for playing Ray Charles, but he was okay. He wasn't a complete goofball. If he showed any range at all, it came in jail when the other prisoner got sick. If anyone gave a good performance, it was the man who was chasing Jamie, but I don't remember his name. Quite a disturbing character. Also good: the actor playing the government agent who seemed to be in charge.The best thing about the movie was the way it ended. Very exciting, with lots of good editing and stunt work. I will say only that this happened at a race track, with one rider going against the horses who were in an actual race! It was also exciting the way the FBI was able to keep track of Jamie's character. I don't know how realistic the technology was, but it was interesting and the special effects and computer technology were enjoyable to watch.It wasn't the best action film ever, but it wasn't complete garbage.

"Bait" is the type of film that makes you say "Wow!!!! I enjoyed this film.There are several things I enjoyed about "Bait." The first thing was the villainous character played by Doug Hutchison. His character is played with excellence and brilliance.The second thing I enjoyed was the fact that the script seemed to be so unique in what was being played out on screen. When I watch movies I look for originality and I found this with "Bait." Finally, I enjoyed how "Bait" never let up from the beginning to the end. Also, each cast member brings something special to "Bait," which makes it much more dramatic and funny film. "Bait" is a film that will appeal to everyone who enjoys dramatic scenes as well as comedic scenes.