AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Python Hyena 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

gavin6942 After assuming his dead cellmate's identity to get with his girlfriend (Charlize Theron), an ex-con (Ben Affleck) finds himself the reluctant participant in a casino heist.On top of the excellent Ben Affleck, we get Danny Trejo (before his big break), and Gary Sinise as hard core as he has ever been. This may be his finest role (with all due respect to Lieutenant Dan). All around some fine roles and casting.The film also has more than a few twists and turns. Who is working for who? Is anyone who they really claim to be? You will never know until the final shot...As far as Affleck Christmas movies go, this is probably the best. Sure, "Surviving Christmas" has its moments, but what a bunch of junk compared to this action flick.

Scarecrow-88 Unbelievably implausible action crime thriller where Affleck, the film's hero, seems to be the luckiest released convict on the planet considering how much time he spends with a gun pointed at him, always escaping a sure bullet to the head, must help a group of nasty, vile thugs (Gary Sinise, Danny Trejo, Clarence William III, and Donal Logue) rob the wintry casino of Dennis Farina (his recent death was the reason I watched this again, to tell you the truth). All of this comes about when Affleck (substituting for a man (played by James Frain) stabbed with a shiv in prison, who was his cellmate) meets the author (Charlize Theron) of letters pinned for Frain, read to him. Affleck himself fell in love with Theron through those letters, but it isn't long before he's accosted by Sinise's brood and expected to help them rob a casino. This film has two/three twists that challenge any existing credibility that remains left over from entire ridiculous sequences that rescue Affleck from certain death, and there are multiple, long-winded expository back-and-forths between heavies and Affleck endlessly explaining "Haha, I got you!" The last one involving Frain and Theron was the straw that broke the camels back for me. I could barely swallow the "James Bond" delays in killing off Affleck, with the film's villains finding convoluted means to bump him off just so the screenplay could allow him plenty of time to come up with an escape plan. All of this said, time has mellowed me quite a bit towards Affleck. I like him a lot now, and his performance in the film didn't bother me at all. He has some fun actors to work off of. Sinise lays it on mighty thick, but the part requires lots of psychopathic tendencies. Of course, Clarence seemed to remain in employment just because he could play with relative ease those cold-blooded heels that accompany the likes of Sinise's ringleader…he always had the look casting director's must relish when a human monster is required. Logue seems out of place if we look at his career after this particular film, while Trejo can just appear and convince as a bruiser willingly following this rogue's gallery of homicidal scumbags. Thankfully, Frankenheimer's direction has lots of energy and pizazz attempting to compensate for a screenplay that tests our tolerance for character stupidity. Theron, like she was in 2 Days in the Valley (1996), is a feast for the eyes and libido at this point in her career, but the twists regarding her ulterior motives as it pertains to the heist were just too much for me personally. She can play the bitch, though; there's no denying that. At least, the ending is gratifying in that all the criminals get their just desserts; and they all deserve what they get for being so dumb.

edwagreen Great action packed film with the best of the ironic twists in it.Ben Affleck gets more than what he bargained for when he assumes the identity of a dead inmate in jail. He meets up with a lovingly Charlize Theron, who satisfies him immensely until he finds out who her supposed brother is.Affleck is beaten and tortured by "brother" Gary Sinise and his crew. Thinking that he is the dead inmate, they want him to help them rob a casino.Theron was great here. She is a real catty type, with innocence first appearing, only to later reveal a shrewd, vicious operator. Sinise, with his hippie-like long hair, is as usual terrific in this 2000 film. Always the masterful director, John Frankenheimer does a great job once again.