elmore leonard has quickly become one of hollywood 's favorite authors .
out of four film adaptations in as many years ,
the witty and inventive out of sight gives get shorty a run for its money as the best leonard adaptation around .
george clooney stars as jack foley , a nice bank robber .
. .
you know the type , he uses his charm and his wits rather than a gun .
but even charming guys end up unlucky , and jack ends up in jail .
but not for long .
he plots an escape with the help of his best friend , and fellow robber , buddy bragg ( ving rhames ) , and their slow - witted pothead associate , glenn michaels ( steve zahn ) .
but jack did n't count on u . s .
marshal karen sisco ( jennifer lopez ) . appearing at the right place at the wrong time , karen gets involved in foley 's escape attempt and the subsequent manhunt to bring him in .
however , karen develops a rapport with jack foley , and finds that she begrudgingly likes the guy .
but , can love prosper on opposite sides of the law ? or can karen straighten out jack before he goes too far in pursuit of just one last crime .
clooney , who has had a string of solid , but never stellar , film roles , delivers his best performance to date .
he blends into his role here perfectly as the risk taking jack foley , who 's willing to gamble everything on the chance that karen sisco might be his true love .
jennifer lopez does an excellent job as well .
she actually has a trickier role than clooney , as a woman who has to balance her emotions with her sense of duty .
she and clooney develop good chemistry together .
the film boasts a superb ensemble .
steve zahn gives a hilarious performance , and steals nearly every scene he 's in .
don cheadle is appropriately sinister as a violent ex - con who may or may not be teaming up with foley .
albert brooks is enjoyable
as a white collar criminal who talks too much for his own good .
out of the cast , only dennis farina seems underused as karen 's ex - lawman father .
steven soderbergh gives the film sharp and stylistic direction .
with an affectation for freeze frames , he delivers a unique take on the film 's action and love scenes that places out of sight a notch above routine crime films .
a recurring series of flashbacks makes the film seem more complex than it actually is .
devoid of its bells and whistles , out of sight is actually a fairly straightforward crime story .
however , there are only a few spots in the film that seem bare , and they pass quickly .
with smart dialogue , good characters , and an excellent cast , out of sight easily smoothes over the rough spots in the plot and delivers on both the action and romantic fronts .
places out of sight a notch above routine gives get shorty a run for its money as the best leonard adaptation around smart dialogue , good characters , and an excellent cast boasts a superb ensemble gives a hilarious performance , and steals nearly every scene he 's in delivers his best performance to date . he blends into his role here perfectly gives the film sharp and stylistic direction delivers a unique take enjoyable delivers on both the action and romantic fronts develop good chemistry together does an excellent job as well