| Overall Grade: |
C |
|
| Story: |
D+ |
|
|
| Acting: |
B |
|
|
| Direction: |
B+ |
|
|
| Visuals: |
B+ |
|
|
Great camerawork. Woo-hoo.
by Yahoo! Movies User (movies profile)
May 31, 2006
1
of
2 people found this review helpful
Without Brian De Palma's visually stunning camerawork and maybe Gary Sinise's sinisterly effective performance, Snake Eyes would be little more than a straight-to-cable thriller. But it was a theatrical release, seeing as it it's headlined by a first-rate cast, a somewhat respected director (De Palma's been getting scorched by the critics recently, more or less deservedly), and a fairly acclaimed screenwriter in David Koepp (who would follow this up with the far superior chiller Stir of Echoes).
Nicolas Cage stars as Rick Santoro, a cop at a boxing match who, along with thousands of spectators, witnesses the shooting of the secretary of defense. Santoro has everyone rounded up and kept in the vicinity of the stadium, not a problem since there's a hurricane brewing outside. Meanwhile, Major Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise) has plans of his own, and Santoro's belief that there's a major conspiracy going on might just be for real.
For about an hour, maybe a bit less, Snake Eyes is moderately enjoyable (worthy of C+ to B-) fluff, moving at a fairly quick pace with a set-up that isn't half-bad. Then De Palma struts his stuff in Rashomon-style, giving us first-person POVs during flashbacks and stories being told from different perspectives. It's all for naught, since it's easily predictable who's lying and who isn't (for crying out loud, the villain is revealed less than halfway through). De Palma's camerawork (split screens, aerial shots) is visually dazzling, but it can't hide the lack of plot that's at work.
The last half-hour is the worst, climaxing to a resolution that's so inane, it has to be seen to be believed. This isn't even to mention the horrible editing. (Spoilers begin) You can clearly see a huge wave tipping over a police van, then the camera cuts to said van crashing through the building, just conveniently in time and place to stop the villian from executing witnesses. Arrghh! The original ending featured a tidal wave, which might explain the later dialogue where Santoro talks about he remembers almost drowning, which of course, makes no sense given that such a tidal wave never occurred. This is one of the more blatant bits of filmmaking incompetence I've seen, De Palma should seriously be ashamed.
I used to be fan of his and I actually did enjoy the much maligned Mission to Mars, but while his movies might still be visual stunners, they're coming up as losers when it comes to plot and characters (a la this film and the recent Femme Fatale). Snake Eyes isn't his worst (that's either Fatale or Bonfire of the Vanities), but it signals De Palma's fading career. |
My Public Profile 
