Considering how many star names there are in this cast, some in relatively small parts, and each capable of attracting their own fanbase, it's perhaps a surprise that it lost a considerable amount of money at the box-office. It's an entertaining rollercoaster of a film, whose plot narrative seems jerkily inconsistent, but which manages to pull off a few memorable scenes. I liked Christian Bale's performance, which reminded me strangely of Peter Falk in Columbo, but some of the others in this glittering cast are given too little to work with to impress. The basic plot sounds like one of those implausible narratives dreamt up by a scriptwriter in order to hang a story on, yet was, apparently, based on real events. The comic tone makes it all feel rather lightweight, and it did seem to go on for too long, but it's a reasonably entertaining offering.