2001, 2 hrs 3 min., Rated PG-13 for some sexual content, language and violence. Dir: Barry Levinson. Cast: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Troy Garity (Harvey), January Jones (Harvey's blonde dream girl).

Plot in seven words: Men rob banks, woman enters, instability ensues.

Loosely based on the real life Sleepover Bandits, Bandits tells the tale of a pair of bank robbers, Joe and Terry, who break out of prison, portrayed by Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton, respectively, as well as minor partner and cousin of Joe, Harvey (Troy Garity), a dimwit wannabe stuntman.

While I found the movie many times witty and the characters interesting, I just don't think I can recommend a movie in which the supposed good guys aren't so good.

I know, I know, there are plenty of times in film history where I've been able to pull for the bad guys. Usually, though, it's because they're only hurting other baddies in the movie, or people who deserve it. In Bandits, though, I knew that Willis and Thornton were combustible personalities who had nothing but malice in their hearts for the world at large.

This is the reason my older brother, Scott, refuses to pay money for Bandits. He doesn't want to see dangerous criminals glorified, because while working in a bank a few years ago he remembers the warnings about the Sleepover Bandits. I can understand, because even while seeing the movie I couldn't get drawn into cheering for such ruthless and sometimes brutal crooks. They're pretty much deserving of anything negative that might occur.

In other words, Butch and Sundance they ain't.

Thornton is the brightest spot, as the brains of the outfit and a hypochondriac prone to getting symptoms of any sickness he just hears about. His nervous tics and wit provide most of the humor in Bandits, and he makes it at least a little bit worthwhile.

Meanwhile, Willis has a bad temper, lives by Chinese philosophical phrases and wears his hair like a yak. Not to say he doesn't do a fine job, but there's not a whole lot of acting involved in his role.

Enter Cate Blanchett as Kate (I guess the studio naming department was on lunch break when her role was thought up), a severely depressed woman in a bad marriage who listens to 80s chick pop and craves something different. As for Miss Blanchett herself, Cate tries for a different look in every picture, and this time puts her hair in several different wigs, plus Kate's 'natural' shoulder-length whispy red hair. It's always good to see the lovely Cate-with-a-C, and she alone is worth seeing the film for me.

Despite my hangups on the characters, there's no doubt that director Barry Levinson makes Bandits look good, the acting is solid and it's not an entirely unpleasant couple of hours in the dark, drinking Diet Coke and eating Twizzlers.

The verdict:

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