The real surprise of the twisty casino-heist thriller Reindeer Games is that I liked it. I wasn't expecting to; I went because this preview had an air of exclusivity about it that appealed to me and because I really didn't have anything better to do. I fully expected the movie to be another wham-bam-boom, by-the-numbers action flick. But I found myself won over instantly: how can you not admire a movie that opens with several gruesomely dead Santa Clauses? That scores an energetic sex scene to Nat King Cole's jovial "Let It Snow"? That features what is definitely the best line of the year so far, yelled by a demented convict who finds a roach in his gelatin dessert: "There are monsters in the Jell-O!" And that's all just in the first half hour.
This twisted loopiness is the main reason Reindeer Games rises above the standard action crap. It's got a little bit of the same goofy feel -- greatly toned down, of course -- of director John Frankenheimer's Island of Dr. Moreau (actually, its tone is sort of a blend of Frankenheimer's last two movies, Moreau and Ronin). It reminded me a bit of Die Hard, too, what with all the Christmas imagery (why they're releasing it in February is beyond me) and the reluctant hero who just wants to get home to his family. The script was written by the same guy who did Arlington Road, so it's got some murky identities, "who can you trust?" dilemmas, and a twist ending that, while not as nifty as the one in Arlington Road, neatly ties up a lot of dangling loose ends that were starting to look like plain carelessness on the writer's part. [Though said writer gets a little too clever at times: Ben Affleck's character is named Rudy (even though the other "reindeer" make him join in their "reindeer games"), and his buddy whose identity he assumes is named Nick (like Saint Nick?).]
Charlize Theron is pretty good in the role Ashley Judd must have been too busy to do, and Gary Sinise goes slumming again (remember Ransom?) as the psycho bad guy, but mainly, I wish Ben Affleck were more convincing as a guy who's done five years in jail. You just look at him and you know he was somebody's bitch that whole time. His bad-ass tattoos just made me giggle; it's about as convincing as Tom Hanks smoking crack. When he's asked to pick the first thing he wants to do after being released from prison, he says, "I want to get some hot chocolate." Hot chocolate? Five years in prison, and the thing you want most is some Swiss Miss, and I don't mean that in a dirty way? It's terrible, the things prison will do to a man. In his favor, though, I have to say Affleck manages to make even the most bullshit lines of dialogue sound charming. And he does grow into his role as an action hero as the movie goes on. And, because you all expect me to say it: his ass isn't nearly as good as his buddy Matt Damon's.
Don't mistake me; Reindeer Games isn't high art. It's just good entertainment: comedy, action, sex, and stuff blowing up. You can't ask more from a movie than that. (Okay, yes you can, and I often do, but don't blow the happy little buzz I've got going.)
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