Few directors went on a more impressive run through the late 1990s and early 2000s than Steven Soderbergh. In addition to winning the Oscar for Best Director and helming Ocean’s Eleven, Soderbergh made several smaller movies that have stood the test of time.
The greatest example is 1998’s Out of Sight, a charming thriller starring George Clooney as a bank robber who finds himself in a hugely flirtatious relationship with Jennifer Lopez’s Karen Sisco, a federal marshal looking to arrest him. Here are three reasons Out of Sight still hits more than 25 years later.
Lopez and Clooney have remarkable chemistry
Although Out of Sight has elements of a great action movie, it is first and foremost a love story that heavily relies on the chemistry between Clooney and Lopez. Thankfully, both actors are more than up to the task. Clooney is playing exactly the kind of character you’d expect — a charming, slightly sleazy guy who is smarter than he lets on.
Meanwhile, Lopez plays Sisco tough, but she’s charmed by Clooney’s thief long before she’s willing to admit that to herself. Every scene they share is electric, the kind of onscreen chemistry that almost leaves the viewer tingling as they watch it.
The supporting cast is excellent
Although Clooney and Lopez deserve a lot of credit for the work they do here, Soderbergh assembled an incredible supporting cast to surround them. We’ve got Ving Rhames in his prime, a frazzled Steve Zahn, as well as Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks, and, maybe most importantly, Don Cheadle.
On top of feeling like a cast filled with people who you might see on the street, the chemistry between every member of the cast is exceptional. Out of Sight was not the kind of movie that was destined to top the box office, but it’s filled with recognizable faces anyway.
Soderbergh knows exactly what he’s doing
In the past decade, Soderbergh has spent most of his time experimenting with different kinds of storytelling, and more power to him. In the 1990s and 2000s, though, there was no one more capable of combining action, comedy, and romance to deliver something utterly satisfying.
That’s exactly what he does with Out of Sight, a movie that is not about anything particularly complicated or emotional. Nevertheless, it’s such an utterly satisfying movie and one that knows exactly how to achieve a perfect tonal balance. After watching, you feel like it’s a masterpiece.
You can watch Out of Sight on Amazon Prime Video.
