Reindeer Games (2000)

Directed by John Frankenheimer. Starring Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, Charlize Theron, Clarence Williams III, Danny Trejo, Donal Logue, James Frain, Dennis Farina. [R]

Affleck is sprung from prison the day after his cellmate (Frain) is killed in a fight, and decides to assume the dead man’s persona so he can get into Theron’s pants (she had been corresponding with Frain through letters, though they’d never met). But Theron has a brother (Sinise), a nasty one at that, and he plans on using the (dead) ex-con’s experience as a former employee at an Indian casino to rob it on Christmas Eve, which forces Affleck to keep up the ruse of being the “other guy.” Despite the convoluted premise, this crime thriller really has nowhere to go after everything is established; the running time is padded by repetitive threats and arguments and the occasional low-suspense “close call” (and the director’s cut is even twenty minutes longer!); by the time the robbery takes place, there’s relief that it’s finally winding down…but watch out for that second climax. The first twist is so easy to predict that it barely qualifies as a twist; the second one is so illogical that it could only be predicted based on the expectation that another dumb twist must be coming. The sort of movie where just about every character thinks they’re the smartest person in the room even though their behavior and decisions consistently prove they’re all dumb as dirt. Frankenheimer’s expert action direction can’t save Ehren Kruger’s plot hole-riddled script or the hapless performances from a cast that deserves better. Frankenheimer’s final feature film. Ashton Kutcher has a small role as a casino patron.

39/100