It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Femme Fatale is a movie which takes its time in really getting going but in the end it's worth the wait. It seemingly starts out as a straightforward heist movie. Rebecca Romijn plays Laure, who's part of a team of thieves who mean to steal a diamond-encrusted bra. They're going to take it right off the model who's wearing it at the Cannes Film Festival. Laure takes the model into the restroom where seduction is on the menu along with theft. But just when Laure and the model, now relieved of her diamonds, are really getting into one another things go awry. Laure disappears with the diamonds. Her partners in crime are not well pleased. Will Laure get away with it? Well, luckily for her a series of events too fortunate to really be believed allows her to get out of France. Less luckily events seven years later conspire to bring Laure back to Paris. Her old partners anxiously await her return. Laure's in trouble and she knows it. Extricating herself from this mess will require an elaborate plan. And a patsy. Enter unwitting photographer Nicolas who finds himself caught up in something beyond his imagination. And something quite dangerous.The opening heist sequence, while very well done, does go on perhaps a little longer than needed. And then the movie has to get Laure out of France and back again. All in all it takes quite a while for the movie to actually set itself up, to get to the real story. It's a complicated, at times convoluted, thriller. The movie is certainly intriguing enough to hold your interest but it does move rather slowly. But writer/director Brian De Palma manages to pay it off in the end. The movie's final twists and turns make the whole thing worthwhile. Everything comes together in quite smart fashion. Yes the movie got bogged down at times along the way but when you see the whole story you appreciate how well De Palma put the pieces of his puzzle together. The performances aren't great. Romijn is certainly not the most talented actress around. But she definitely looks the part of the sexy femme fatale. And her somewhat stiff acting actually kind of fits the role of the ice queen Laure. Antonio Banderas meanwhile seems somewhat bored with the role of Nicolas, he doesn't bring much energy to the proceedings. But he does make Nicolas sympathetic enough that you feel for the guy as Laure toys with him. And toy with him she does in so many ways. Laure is a woman not to be trifled with. Her story is compelling. The way De Palma presents that story borders on genius. Femme Fatale is a movie which keeps you guessing and which ultimately rewards you for sticking with it through its more mundane moments. Not an ordinary heist movie or a run-of-the-mill thriller. This is a movie with smarts, one which packs a surprising punch.

I'm not a huge movie buff, so I just saw this movie on cable ten years after it was made. Aside from Body Double (one of the best movies ever made), and perhaps Bonfire of the Vanities and Blow Out, this is De Palma's best work. The star, Rebecca Romijn, is fantastic in a dual role, and viewers will hate her until the very end. Perhaps that is why the box office was not very good?? No one will be able to predict the end of this movie, it is so unexpected. There are scenes in this movie that you will have to work hard to fit in. I need to watch it again for that reason, but it also a reason that the movie is so good. If you get the entire movie the first time, it's not that great a movie. How the producers spent $35mil on this movie, however, is beyond me. Eastwood could have done it for less than a third of that.

Like most trailers when I saw the trailer to this and was expecting a straightforward erotic thriller with some schemes here and there. But that wasn't entirely the case, in fact the movie felt a bit drawn out and dull sometimes. I am not sure if they tried to go in a artistic direction with this movie, but the combination of those elements didn't seem to work that well. In fact the movie felt slightly dated with the direction and all. This movie will also leave some casual viewers slightly confused and not really in a good way either. Like what the heck is going on? And how did it get to that point? And stuff like that. If there was some suspense it would have made the movie better but there is almost no suspense. The plot isn't anything original, it's about a woman who got mixed up with some bad people and is trying to escape her past but her past catches up to her. And there is some twist than and there. The thing is the movie isn't really entertaining or grabs the attention or interest. You just go with it until it's over. Twist and turns isn't that great but when it comes to the twist the title says it all. It's cool when a movie lets the audience participate and use there brains to figure out what is going on, but that just wasn't any fun with this. There is easy to spot flaws in the plot and somethings are just not explained and not in a good way either. Overall I just didn't enjoy this movie, maybe some audience may like this style and direction but I personally didn't all that much. It isn't a terrible movie but I just didn't find it enjoyable.5.6/10

This is a heist movie, and what you see isn't always what you get. Director Brian De Palma, a Hitchcock imitator is good at illustrating this misdirection; indeed anyone who has seen a Hitchcock thriller will be able to recognize some similarities. Unfortunately, character development is at level zero, and while that may be okay for the heist scenes, it renders the bulk of the film boring.I really can't say much about the plot without giving anything away, but I will say that the heist scenes are interesting, and generate a little bit of tension. However, with all the gloss and glamor evident, it still feels pretty trashy.I can't say much about the acting either, again not to give anything away, but also because none of the actors have much to work with. The actors are okay, but Rebecca Romijn-Stamos's part could have been better cast. She does however show a lot of herself and seems pretty comfortable doing it, which these days, says a lot (and severely limits the casting choices).This could have been a much better film had we had some vested interest in the characters. As it is, it's just bunch of nice looking scenes with a lot of trick mirrors.