Movie Review: Duplicity

This movie seems to have everything. A-list stars? Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Good plot? Two spies who are in love with each other but can't figure out if the other one is playing them or not. It sounds good on paper but really it was a big flop on screen. As I said, they are both spies--Julia for the CIA and Clive for MI6--who quit so they can be together. They plan the scam to top all scams so that they can run away with the money and live happily ever after.

The problem is, the movie keeps jumping back and forth between various past meets and the present without being real clear as to when you're back in the present. I pretty much kept up with the gist of the story but unfortunately the story was incredibly boring. There was a lot of "can she trust him" and "is she or isn't she playing him" that I think was supposed to keep you guessing but I found myself getting sick of the constant back and forth. All I came away with was, "Wow, he needs to find a new girlfriend."

Unless you're just a rabid fan of either one of the actors, I would say skip this one altogether. (**)