Reindeer Games Reviews

Even though this movie had a pretty bad reputation, since it was directed by John Frankenheimer and since there was a pretty cool cast, I thought I might as well give it a try. Indeed, the cast was nice with a young Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron but that was about the only interesting thing this movie had to offer (there was also a very small part by an even younger Ashton Kutcher). Eventually, Charlize Theron herself admitted that the movie was pretty bad and she did it just for the opportunity to be working with Frankenheimer. For Ben Affleck, it was the beginning of his downward spiral, a bad break in his career which would last actually only 4 years but would damage incredibly his career. The way he made a come-back recently was just downright impressive though. Coming back to our main feature, basically, it is a rather misguided and boring crime feature taking place during Christmas (why all those movies, even ‘Die Hard’, take place during Christmas is just beyond me…). For Frankenheimer, it would be his last directing effort and it is rather sad that such an interesting director would end up his career on such a low note. To conclude, I have seen worse, but it is still pretty damned average and it is not really worth a look, I’m afraid.

"I read your letters, convict. Don't play no reindeer games with me."

Reindeer Games verifies that both actors and directors suffer their substandard career moments. Director Frankenheimer is perhaps largely known for films such as Ronin and The Manchurian Candidate. When it comes to the action/thriller hybrid, Frankenheimer's transcendent direction is largely unrivalled. However, even someone of Frankenheimer's immaculate artistic talent can be let down if a poor script is dropped into his lap. It appears that Reindeer Games inaugurates a new variation of the action/thriller genre: talking aplenty, unnecessarily excessive elucidation, and precious little action.

The script is preposterously stupid...simply a mindless assortment of words with no redeeming value at all. If a group of 12-year-olds penned a screenplay based on this premise we'd anticipate considerably more. At least we'd be comforted with a significant amount of additional action that would exalt the overall quality. The dialogue and the scenarios would remain derisorily poor, but in any case we'd be more entertained. The film contains no fast-paced edge, no scenes to palpably progress the story, and worse yet the story isn't believable for a minute.

Rudy Duncan (Affleck) is serving a five year stint in the Iron Mountain maximum security penitentiary and his prison term concludes in a few days. His cellmate Nick (Frain) has spent years writing to his pen pal girlfriend Ashley (Theron) whom he has never met. Nick is looking forward to spending his life with Ashley when he leaves prison, while Rudy desires to return home and spend Christmas with his family. However, Nick is killed in a lunchroom scuffle. When Rudy is released from prison he decides to assume Nick's identity and strike up a relationship with Ashley. Little does Rudy realise that Ashley's psychotic brother Gabriel (Sinise) and his gang of thugs had planned to use Nick's services to rob a casino. Rudy is therefore inadvertently entwined in the situation, and is forced to aid Gabriel in the upcoming robbery.

While Ehren Kruger's enormously ridiculous screenplay proves lethal, it must be noted that director Frankenheimer and cinematographer Alan Caso do terrific things with the faulty material. Frankenheimer is capable of infusing each shot with visual elegance and style. Caso's cinematography perfectly captures the locales and sets. Unfortunately, though, the technical proficiency behind the camera cannot overshadow the undeniable stupidity and unforgivable dialogue. There is also no intensity in the events that unfold. There is boring dialogue and copious amounts of exposition.

This film is also tagged as an addition to the action genre, but the action doesn't commence until the final 20 minutes. Despite the competent technical merits Frankenheimer and Caso, things become extraordinarily brainless! The worst part is the bountiful assortment of plot twists that continually unfold. The screenwriter is under the impression that plot twists create an interesting movie. That would commonly be true...but we don't care about the characters as we are never given a reason to. These twists also rely too heavily on coincidences. One character addresses this by saying "You think we don't know what a long shot is?" The funny thing is...another character says that several things could have gone wrong. Yet, absolutely everything happens as planned. Nothing goes wrong.

Ben Affleck is among Hollywood's worst actors. I was disinclined to view this film because of the presence of Affleck. But I'm a sucker for action movies. So there was Affleck's appalling performance, and to make things worse the action is scarce.
Charlize Theron appears to do her best.
Gary Sinise is just criminally misused. His character is so clichéd and standard. The rest of the supporting cast appear to be let down by that horrible script. Most of all, Affleck's sub-par performance lacks any intensity or credibility and it takes effect on everyone around him.

Overall, Reindeer Games is a silly, pretentious, dumb and primitive action/thriller that is incurably marred by the profoundly ludicrous script. Frankenheimer also edited a director's cut that added 20 minutes of footage. It does nothing but extend the already atrocious experience.

3.7/10