Reindeer Games (2000)

Memorable, crazy movie

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

REINDEER GAMES is one of those films I hate which try way too hard to be clever. As a 'thriller', it attempts to confound the audience by throwing in a major twist ever ten or fifteen minutes or so, totally twisting the story upon its head in an effort to be one step ahead. It doesn't work. The storyline just ends up being preposterous, unbelievable, you name it...and, in the end, this would have worked a lot better as a tension-fuelled heist movie, something like DOG DAY AFTERNOON.So, with an awful script sapping life from the viewer, what IS worth watching? John Frankenheimer's direction, for one. Frankenheimer, who directed the superlative RONIN as well as many other great flicks over the years, is way too good for this material. His direction is solid, as usual, with plenty of stylistic flourishes and well-handled moments of both suspense and action. It's very sad that this was his last completed work, as he deserves much better material than this.The cast, too, is better than you'd expect than in a failure of this type. Okay, so we're saddled with a typically bland Ben Affleck as the lead – his only good scene is when he's having darts chucked at him, which I'm convinced was done for real – and the equally uninteresting Charlie Theron, complete with a gratuitous topless scene, as his love interest. Further down the line, the cast gets more interesting. Gary Sinise is one of my favourite underrated villains, and as the bad guy here he's impossible to dislike: a rough, tough street-level crim with aspirations to make it big. You can't fault him. Then there are lots of familiar faces, seemingly stuck playing henchmen or prisoners: Isaac Hayes has a memorable cameo, Ron Jeremy is a prisoner, Donal Logue a lunk-headed thug, Dennis Farina a casino boss, Ashton Kutcher credited as 'college kid', and the ever-great Danny Trejo criminally underused as one of the bad guys.In the end, though, the ludicrousness saps this one dry, even if there are one or two half-decent suspense sequences along the way. Unfortunately, as in his other film PAYCHECK, Affleck is too bland and smarmy an actor to generate one ounce of empathy in the viewers, making this another forgettable attempt at something big.

"Reindeer Games" may not go down as one of the best written or brilliant films ever made (and truth be told be it not for the fact that it was directed by the late, great John Frankenheimer, and starred Ben Affleck or Charlize Theron, it wouldn't have nearly been as noticed on this site as it is), but that doesn't mean it's without its merits. At heart, it's a simple story: prison convict Rudy Duncan (Ben Affleck)and his cell mate Nick Cassidy (James Frain) are two days away from being released around the holidays when Nick is killed in a prison riot. Saddened and distraught, Rudy ends up being released but not without assuming Nick's identity when he steps out of the prison gates to impress the beautiful and hot Ashley (Charlize Theron) that Nick had been writing to and intending to shack up with. Rudy tells himself that it's only until after New Year's but unbeknownst to him, he gets a lot more than he bargained for when Ashley's brother, Gabriel (Gary Sinise with Lt. Dan's hippie hairstyle) and his crew of gun running thugs force him into robbing a Indian casino (disguised as, of all things, a group of Santa Clauses!) because they think him to be the actual Nick Cassidy, who, just happened to have worked for that very casino as a security guard. Gee, what are the odds! From there, it's a race against time as Rudy tries to stay one step ahead of the sadistic Gabriel and some how escape with his life in time for Christmas. But along the way, Rudy will see there are a couple of twists and turns and despite his best efforts, he may spend Christmas in the morgue.What makes "Reindeer Games" as watchable and decently entertaining as it is would primarily be the direction of the master thrill maker John Frankenheimer. With his eye for the camera, he's able to squeeze the most tension out of any performance or script, no matter how convoluted it might be and under his supervision, the atmosphere is tight, fast spaced, and the story never stalls. It also helps that the movie has decent performances, even from Ben Affleck himself. Though I can't say Ben Affleck is the greatest actor in the world, under the right set of circumstances, he is capable of doing good work, and under Frankenheimer's tutelage, he does pretty decent here. Also noteworthy is Charlize Theron as the seemingly innocent Ashley, Gary Sinise's performance as gun running truck driver turned robber Gabriel, who does a decent job of being the bad guy of the film - even if the character is one dimensional - as well as the fact that there are a couple of note worthy actors playing his henchmen, such as the always dependable Danny Trejo, the underrated but solid Clarence Williams III, and good old natured Donal Logue. Plus, you'll notice a few notable cameos like Isaac Hayes as a fellow convict, a really random one of Ashton Kutcher as a casino patron (huh?), and a small but noteworthy performance of the late Dennis Farina as a sleazy casino manager. "Reindeer Games" may not reinvent the wheel, but with Frankenheimer's direction (his final feature film), some good acting, decent action, and few decent plot twists here and there, it's not a bad way to waste some time. Merry Christmas!

Reindeer Games (2000):Dir: John Frankenheimer / Cast: Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron, Gary Sinise, Dennis Farina, James Frain: Laughable mess with a lame title. The only games being played are at the expense of the audience. Ben Affleck is two days away from prison release and he shares a cell with a guy who tells of the letters he receives from his girlfriend. Unfortunately his friend is stabbed during a riot and Affleck is left to inform the girlfriend but he decides to wait until after the holidays. That is the first of many stupid moves made in this crap. This obviously leads to sex where they thrash each other about as if a pay per view wrestling event. I cannot believe that John Frankenheimer took so much slack for directing The Island of Dr. Moreau when a film this bad would be a life sentence in some countries. This may very well be his worst film. Affleck delivers a laughable performance while Charlize Theron is cardboard as this conniving bimbo. Gary Sinise plays the villain who forces Affleck to rob casinos. The role allows him to constantly jab Affleck with a gun. Perhaps it was a reflect action having gone from Forrest Gump to this crap. Dennis Farina is wasted in another cardboard appearance. James Frain plays Affleck's pal in prison who is the connection to Theron. Pointless snow blown crap with a screenplay that was probably rewritten more times than the casino map. Score: 1 / 10

Reindeer Games is actually quite an entertaining movie and more so than I was led to believe. The one thing that may go against the movie is the absurd plot and even more absurd ending, but I was able to stay with the ridiculous twists and turns and embrace them for what they are. This movie is the thriller version of Bad Santa, so do not be expecting a feel-good holiday movie. In all, the movie was fun and explosive and it is a change of pace from recent holiday films. John Frankenheimer's film is about a man named Rudy who is about to be paroled from prison after serving a sentence for grand theft auto. His cellmate, Nick is also about to be paroled, and Nick tells Rudy of his love with his pen pal named Ashley. Due to an unfortunate accident, only Rudy is released from prison and decides to meet with Ashley. However, it goes downhill after Rudy is forced to go on a heist by Ashley's nefarious brother, Gabriel. The acting is not too bad. I have to admit that seeing Ben Affleck in the midst of such strong, overpowering men is laughable. But I think he manages to hold his own. Charlize Theron delivers a great performance as Ashley and she is not only beautiful, but she acts incredibly well. Gary Sinise is an excellent bad guy, although I feel like his character whimpered out as the movie progressed.Overall, Reindeer Games is entertaining enough as it is despite some incredibly ridiculous moments. There are some glaring plot holes, but it's Christmas(in the movie), so we shall all just be jolly. With such a premise, the film could have been better but luckily it's not too terrible. A note to the casino: Santa Claus is coming!My Grade: B-