Review of Reindeer Games (2000) by Tsukasa A — 30 Apr 2014
Directed by John Frankenheimer (Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and Ronin (1998)), and written by Ehren Kruger (Arlington Road (1999), Scream 3 (2000) and The Brothers Grimm (2005)), this is a daft heist thriller with too many twists and turns for it's own good.
It should have been a good film, but it is hammed up when it simply doesn't need to be, which is a sad shame. Convicted prisoner Rudy Duncan (Ben Affleck) is cellmates with Nick Cassidy (James Frain), who tells Rudy about his correspondence with Ashley (Charlize Theron).
After Nick is killed in a brawl, Rudy is released and he takes Nick's place, meeting Ashley and her brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise), who has a plan to rob the casino Nick worked at. However, Rudy has to bluff his way through the con, but luckily for him, Ashley and Gabriel have no idea what Nick looked like, however Rudy is forced into this against his will, when it's revealed that Ashley and Gabriel are really lovers and partners in crime, but Rudy decides to get even with them and make a getaway.
It should have been a good film, but it does have a lot of cliches and over acting, and this was done back in the days when Affleck would either overact or just phone it in, before he finally got the knack of it.
The saddest thing is this was Frankenheimer's final film, he shouldn't have gone out on a bum note.
This review of Reindeer Games (2000) was written by Tsukasa A on 30 Apr 2014.
Reindeer Games has generally received negative reviews.
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