Sean Connery as Mac and Catherine Zata-Jones as Gin in Entrapment. "The relationshipreminds me of Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, or Bogart and Bacall in some of their films," says the actress.

Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones swing into action together in the romantic thriller Entrapment, whose climax is set atop the world's tallest building as one millennium ends and another begins. Linda Gamble reports.

"It's a good yarn, with wit and an intriguing romantic element that puts a real sting in the tale," says Sean Connery of his latest film, Entrapment, which he stars in and produces. Connery plays Robert 'Mac' MacDougal, who has an untarnished reputation as the world's greatest art thief. So, when a priceless Rembrandt is stolen in New York, the evidence points to Mac. Insurance inspector Virginia 'Gin' Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones) persuades her boss (Will Patton) - whose company will lose $24 million on the theft - to let her go after the master criminal.

Connery with Ving Rhames.

Gin has a plan to trap Mac. But, although she is young, beautiful and feisty, Mac at first turns out to be too crafty for her. Eventually, though, she persuades him to join her in a high-risk heist and the action moves to London and then, via the Western Isles of Scotland, to Kuala Lumpur, high-tech capital of Malaysia, where the duo are caught in a race against time to pull off the perfect crime before the dawning of the new millennium. As the emotional and financial stakes rise, Mac and Gin form an alliance, always staying one step ahead of their employers. But they are finally forced to admit that the price of freedom is higher than either of them expected.

"The relationship reminds me of Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, or Bogart and Bacall in some of their films," says Zeta-Jones of the hidden ties that draw Mac and Gin closer to one another. "Entrapment can be watched as an old-fashioned romance, even though it's all below the surface."

Old master with Old Master: Mac (Connery) with the stolen painting.

The film was written by Oscar-winner Ron Bass (Rain Man, My Best Friend's Wedding), who pitched it to Connery and his Fountainbridge Films production partner, Rhonda Tollefson, in just seven lines. What attracted the actor was that the story threw together two very different characters: the worldly but rather solitary thief; and the young woman out to make her name. They would not normally have come together but somehow, in the course of their adventures, they get under each other's skin. "He's a loner who appreciates art and beauty," notes Connery, "and all his life he has been totally prepared for every eventuality on every job. The one thing he is not prepared for is the girl."