In 1854 England, Edward Pierce (Sean Connery) plans a daring theft of a shipment of gold being transported monthly from London to Folkestone to finance the Crimean War. He recruits pickpocket Robert Agar (Donald Sutherland), his actress girlfriend Miriam (Lesley-Anne Down), and various other co-conspirators. The safe has 4 keys which must be copied. Then the gold must be stolen from a moving train.
Michael Crichton wrote the novel based loosely on the real events. He then wrote the screenplay and directed the movie. This is strictly his show, and the weakest part is his direction. The jokes are on the page but rarely translated to laughs on the screen. The pacing is ponderous. Crichton just doesn't have the directing gene. The action is right there with Sean Connery crawling on top of the train. There are some great stunts going on. Clean Willy climbing the walls is very compelling. But the tension isn't in any of these scenes. Crichton doesn't know how to film action. This movie desperately needs a better director.
Michael Crichton wrote the novel based loosely on the real events. He then wrote the screenplay and directed the movie. This is strictly his show, and the weakest part is his direction. The jokes are on the page but rarely translated to laughs on the screen. The pacing is ponderous. Crichton just doesn't have the directing gene. The action is right there with Sean Connery crawling on top of the train. There are some great stunts going on. Clean Willy climbing the walls is very compelling. But the tension isn't in any of these scenes. Crichton doesn't know how to film action. This movie desperately needs a better director.