The premise is good: in 18th century England a down-on-his-fortune gentleman and a crafty beggar/apothecary/thief team up as highwaymen. The gentleman hob-nobs with the rich and chooses the victims and together they rip them off.

I watched this movie on video while ironing my shirts on a Sunday afternoon. Watching a video helps take my mind off the drudgery of ironing the next week's shirts, and this movie succeeded. Barely.

The thing that turned me off were the anachronisms: torches spitting phosphor like highway patrolmen's flares; a gay gentleman dressed in garish neon pink; techno music (brilliant or merely bad taste?). I kept expecting one of the leading characters to check his Rolex.

The art design and the costumes were excellent (you can depend on the Brits for that) and it was great to see Michael Gambon again. Unfortunately, the movie never gets exciting. There's no dash, no daring escapades. The story isn't very interesting and the characters are likeable enough, but remain two-dimensional. For me, the presence of the utterly delectable Liv Tyler goes far towards making a movie watchable, but her role in this movie was just too small.

It kept me entertained throughout my ironing chore. I couldn't have watched it if I hadn't had something to do with my hands.