Wild Christmas

Reindeer Games is about an ex-con who has taken over his cell mate's identity, so he can run of with the other guy's girlfriend when he gets out of jail. Of course not everything goes as planned. Not only does he get the girl, he also gets a lot of trouble, because some other criminals wanted to use his cell mate to rob a casino. He doesn't know anything about the casino, nor about robbing one, but if he doesn't help them, they will shoot him immediately. So he helps them robbing the casino, wearing a Santa costume, because it is Christmas...

The concept is quite good, but of course not very original. In fact: the whole movie is professionally done, but not that special, so don't expect anything innovating or new. However, when you can forget that for a moment you'll have some good fun watching it. Only at the end it really failed, there were just too many explosions who aren't really doing any good to the rest of the story if you ask me.

But no problem, at least it's something different than "The Sound of Music" or "Home Alone" which you'll normally see around Christmas. It offers decent fun, without excelling once, so that's why I give this movie a 6/10.

"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!

I really like John Frankenheimer's Reindeer Games. Which is a turnaround for me, because when I first saw it years ago I wasn't too impressed. Last year I saw it on vacation around the holiday season on TV though, and found myself enjoying it. It's not the greatest movie, and much of it is ludicrous, but it's packs a mean spirited, sleazy punch and keeps up a nice wintry atmosphere to keep you warm on a cold night, whether from the booze or the bullets. The film gets shat on a lot, especially by star Charlize Theron who famously said she only did it to work with Frankenheimer, but I think it's way more fun than people give it credit for. Ben Affleck back in the sordid chapter of bis career, plays a recently paroled convict who's on his way to meet his cell mate Nick's pen pal girlfriend, pretending to be him. Nice guy. She turns out to be a sweetheart in the form of Theron, and things look up for old Ben. Until, however, her volatile, psychotic gangster brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise) shows up with a pack of thugs who have a notion to rob a casino that Nick used to work at, using him as an inside man. Only, he isn't Nick, and has no idea about the casino, forcing him to think on his feet and stall his way through the dangerous predicament. Sinise is a guy I'm usually indifferent too, or bores me, but here he's a wide eyed, brutish lunatic and really has fun with the role. Theron is appropriately sexy and enigmatic, and there's standout work from three tough guy actors I really enjoy, playing Gabriel's henchman, sporting the delightful monikers Pug (Donal Logue), Merlin (Clarence Williams III) and Jumpy (Danny Trejo). They're like the three ill tempered elves to Gabriel's raving Santa, and steal the film. Dennis Farina plays loudmouth, dirtbag casino owner Jack Bangs, James Frain has a silly bit, and there's a demented cameo from Isaac Hayes ("monsters in the gelatin!!"). It's a loud, dumb flick and it knows it, but it also knows how to have a good time in style. Even when the third act erupts in a cascade of increasingly laughable double crosses and perplexing plot turns, it never stops having fun. Nothing says the holidays like jail time, casino robbery, backstabbing sociopaths, Santa suits and shotguns, and a little murder.

I though REINDEER GAMES was a pretty good movie, especially compared to some other movies of the year 2000 so far, but I think there should have been a little more action than there actually was. There was quite a lot of buildup to the casino robbery, but when it finally got there, not much happened. The ending was very good. Just when you think you've identified all the twists, there's another one right there.

Rudy (Ben Affleck), a car-thief, and his cellmate Nick (James Frain), a guy who killed another man while defending his girlfriend, are both about to be freed from jail when Nick is murdered during a lunch fight. Rudy decides to pretend to be him when his pen-pal-like girlfriend Ashley (Charlize Theron), who never met Nick before, comes to find him. The two really hit it off and things are going well, until Ashley's brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise) finds Rudy and threatens to kill him if he doesn't help them get into and rob a casino, which the real Nick previously worked at.

The plot is actually pretty cool, but it's hard to believe that this bunch of idiot-thieves would really believe that this was the real Nick, even after he told them time after time that he wasn't. There are many great twists at the end which leads to an unpredictable, although somewhat unbelievable, ending. The characters are pretty cool, about half of which turn out to be different from whom you originally thought.

Ben Affleck, new to the action genre, did a pretty good job. After proving himself to be able to play very different parts, like in Dogma, Armageddon and now this, I think he is really going places. Charlize Theron did an OK job as well as the mysterious girlfriend of Nick. Gary Sinise stole the show. I really like this guy. Boy can he act! He's played so many different characters very well. Gary doesn't do as well as the villain as he did in SNAKE EYES or RANSOM, but he still did a very good and believable job.

The main flaw in this movie was the lack of action until the end. The casino robbery itself should've been more action-packed, like it seemed on the commercial. Even in the ending there was more irony and surprise than there was action. But the story and was action was there was still very well done. I'd recommend this movie over many of the movies out now.

This is one of the great actions flicks that is completely underrated on IMDb. Great plot twists, great acting, great actors, great story. This movie kept me enthralled the whole way. It was when Affleck still had his charisma from Good Will Hunting. Charlize Theron dazzles us with her smile and charm and Gary Sinise is sinister as the intimidating "older brother". My only complaint was there were one too many plot twists in the end. Otherwise, settle in for a smooth ride.

My favorite part of this movie are the prison sequences at the start and the final scenes. The prison sequence was very well done and Affleck is immediately identifiable as the likable car jacker. The final scenes are a great touch after the explosions, a nice touch to an enjoyable film. Sinise's fellow gang members are excellent as well, their intimidation tactics and craziness well transmitted to the screen.

See this movie around Christmas time. It may hold some more value.