Representing the past, Marlon Brando; representing the present, Robert De Niro and, widely regarded as the successor to them both, Edward Norton.

All three are involved in a complex heist, the theft of a priceless objet d'art from the Montreal Customs House, no less.

Brando is the middleman who sets the caper up, bringing together the ambitious and unstrustworthy Norton, whose idea it was in the first place, and the ace safecracker De Niro, whose job it will be to do the actual stealing.

It's not, as you may have gathered, a particularly original story, nor does it have quite the tension you would expect from a heist thriller.

But what it lacks in those areas it makes up in the performances and interplay of three fine¿ or once fine, actors.

Norton has the eye-catching role as both crook and, at his place of work, apparent mental deficient.

De Niro is the sympathetic one, wanting to get out of a life of crime and settle down with his girlfriend, Angela Bassett.

Both men are very good. It's Brando, once greater than either of them, who lets the side down.

Although twice the size he used to be he is now, as a performer, a shadow of his former self.

It's an enjoyable and watchable film that would have been even better if Brando had pulled his considerable weight.

Barry Norman