“Snake Eyes”
Snake eyes (R)Nicolas Cage is an Atlantic City cop who attends a heavyweight title fight only to witness a bizarre assassination attempt.
He realizes something's fishy and begins to investigate.
Gary Sinise co-stars as Cage's best friend who is in charge of security.
DM: If you miss the first 15 minutes of this movie, you've definitely missed the best part.
Outside of Cage's hyper-kinetic intro in which he bounces off the walls in anticipation of the big fight, the movie is pretty much run-of-the-mill.
DT: The last 3/4 of the film unfolds with less tension than you'd like and when those in charge of the assassination conspiracy are revealed you say to yourself: "Yup, that's pretty much what I thought."
The finale pretty much grinds to a halt when the improbabilities start flying with reckless abandon.
DM: To me it was way too obvious who the villain was. Why didn't he just wear a sign saying BAD GUY?
On the other hand, Cage's character is likeable even though he's corrupt, violent, manipulative, and dishonest. For some reason he's just easy to like.
DT: His transition from a charismatic weasel to a somewhat better human being is what this film is ultimately all about and what makes it worth viewing, if only as a rental.
DM: I think both Cage and Sinise act well in the movie but the plot drags it down and the action isn't as good as the trailer would lead you to believe.
Score: DM 24, DT 27