So you want to make a good old-fashioned heist flick in the age of the blockbuster?

All you need are a few standard ingredients.

Exotic locale? Check.

Something valuable located in a place where supposedly no one can break in? Check.

High-tech gadgetry? Check.

Beautiful women? Check.

Actor who nobody has seen in a few years to play the thief's nemesis/buddy? Check.

Pierce Brosnan? Check.

OK, so that last one is a bit of a stretch, but when you look back at Brosnan's film choices the past few years, it doesn't appear to be that far off. It seems everyone is forgetting that the actor just plays James Bond, he's not a British spy in real life.

Anyway, on to The Thomas Crown Affair 2, I mean After the Sunset, the new high-tech heist film from everyman director Brett Ratner.

I use high-tech as a loose term because the film doesn't really offer up much in the way of new technology -- PDAs and cell phones are the most advanced devices we see -- but you won't believe what these seemingly single-purpose gadgets can do in a movie.

What number should I dial if I want to take my friend's convertible for a spin while sipping a daiquiri from my porch?

All unexplained technology aside, After the Sunset turns out to be an enjoyable, if altogether unnecessary, piece of filmmaking.

Don't be surprised if halfway through the movie a feeling of déjà vu comes over you. It's perfectly normal. The fact is, you have seen this movie before.

You saw it three years ago with Ocean's Eleven. You'll most likely see it again when the sequel to that film comes out in December. And you definitely saw it with Brosnan's Affair in 1999.

But what's wrong with seeing the same movie over and over again, especially when they come with such enjoyable scenery? Note: I'm talking about the lovely sun-drenched vista, not Salma Hayek.

Even if you're tired of seeing Brosnan take on the role of an aging thief, you have to admit he was born to play these kinds of roles.

His take on Max Burdett -- a retired diamond thief who just can't seem to keep his eyes off his next prize -- is just the right mix of slimy hustler and charming leading-man that even mediocre heist films seem to nail down.

And Hayek, back from the searching-for-more-of-a-challenging-role-phase in her career, gets back to doing what she does best: taking her clothes off on the whim as the sultry seductress Brosnan hopes to someday marry.

The couple's foil in the movie is, surprise! Woody Harrelson, back from a mid-career hiatus. It turns out that Harrelson isn't so washed-up after all. As FBI agent Stan Lloyd, he gets some of the biggest laughs in the film.

In a change-up from an ordinary heist film, Harrelson not only chases Brosnan, but befriends him as well. The result is something like a dysfunctional buddy comedy, a welcome surprise that will keep viewers awake if not entertained in the film's second half.

The only actor that has no business being in this film is Don Cheadle. As a corrupt, mayor-like figure of the movie's island location, his character really feels unnecessary.

If you wonder why the filmmakers seem to rush his sequences along it's because they shouldn't be there in the first place.

Maybe Cheadle had another project he was working on during filming. Perhaps Ocean's Twelve?

All in all, versatile director Ratner constructs After the Sunset to the best of his ability -- but that isn't saying much.

He has read the heist flick manual, and he follows it to a T. Rarely will audiences notice any radical filmmaking moves during the course of the movie, and that is just fine with Ratner.

He has his cast, his location and his tricky gadgets.

If audiences leave the theater smiling then there's really no reason to put up an argument. Or is there?