Reindeer Games

2000 "The trap is set. The game is on."
5.8| 2h4m| R| en| More Info
Released: 25 February 2000 Released
Producted By: Dimension Films
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

After assuming his dead cellmate's identity to get with his girlfriend, an ex-con finds himself the reluctant participant in a casino heist.

Watch Online

Reindeer Games (2000) is now streaming with subscription on Paramount+

Director

John Frankenheimer

Production Companies

Dimension Films

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
Reindeer Games Videos and Images
View All
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew

Reindeer Games Audience Reviews

Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring
Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.
GazerRise Fantastic!
SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.
NateWatchesCoolMovies I really like John Frankenheimer's Reindeer Games. Which is a turnaround for me, because when I first saw it years ago I wasn't too impressed. Last year I saw it on vacation around the holiday season on TV though, and found myself enjoying it. It's not the greatest movie, and much of it is ludicrous, but it's packs a mean spirited, sleazy punch and keeps up a nice wintry atmosphere to keep you warm on a cold night, whether from the booze or the bullets. The film gets shat on a lot, especially by star Charlize Theron who famously said she only did it to work with Frankenheimer, but I think it's way more fun than people give it credit for. Ben Affleck back in the sordid chapter of bis career, plays a recently paroled convict who's on his way to meet his cell mate Nick's pen pal girlfriend, pretending to be him. Nice guy. She turns out to be a sweetheart in the form of Theron, and things look up for old Ben. Until, however, her volatile, psychotic gangster brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise) shows up with a pack of thugs who have a notion to rob a casino that Nick used to work at, using him as an inside man. Only, he isn't Nick, and has no idea about the casino, forcing him to think on his feet and stall his way through the dangerous predicament. Sinise is a guy I'm usually indifferent too, or bores me, but here he's a wide eyed, brutish lunatic and really has fun with the role. Theron is appropriately sexy and enigmatic, and there's standout work from three tough guy actors I really enjoy, playing Gabriel's henchman, sporting the delightful monikers Pug (Donal Logue), Merlin (Clarence Williams III) and Jumpy (Danny Trejo). They're like the three ill tempered elves to Gabriel's raving Santa, and steal the film. Dennis Farina plays loudmouth, dirtbag casino owner Jack Bangs, James Frain has a silly bit, and there's a demented cameo from Isaac Hayes ("monsters in the gelatin!!"). It's a loud, dumb flick and it knows it, but it also knows how to have a good time in style. Even when the third act erupts in a cascade of increasingly laughable double crosses and perplexing plot turns, it never stops having fun. Nothing says the holidays like jail time, casino robbery, backstabbing sociopaths, Santa suits and shotguns, and a little murder.
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.
eric262003 I think that the inventor of the gun must be rolling in his grave with unsettling anger that his deadly contraption was utilized in poor timing and handled with flawed effort to boot. Granted there are no protagonists in the movie, it has become utterly monotonous as we are treated to an endless exhibition as the Hollywood clichéd baddies are interrogating their foes at gunpoint as the disgruntled viewers watch as the easy task of pulling the gun trigger doesn't come off at the right time. Even though we don't like to see someone get killed on film, when they might be someone you admire, the credibility gets lost in the shuffle properly. The only time I ever accepted this flaw was the 1960's "Batman" series where the baddies shoot awkwardly and Batman and Robin find themselves in a silly situation and resourcefully managed to break out of it. By rights Rudy Duncan (Ben Affleck) should have been killed halfway through "Reindeer Games'" and I'm the last to judge whether he lives or dies, but when watching this film all I can say is "DUH"! Rudy is an ex-convict who's on the brink of parole and when he's discharged he will confront a young lady who will potentially rectify his life back in sync. These two are total strangers to one another. The only contact these two know each other from is through letters But there's a flawed twist behind this land of confusion. Rudy is coming off as a cell-mate who was killed in a prison rumble and this cell-mate was too meet this lady. Because his lust over women makes him tingle in delight, Rudy comes out of jail, he get more than what was expected from him. His new girlfriend, Ashley (Charlize Theron) has a brother who's a small-time #$%$ named Gabriel (Gary Sinese) who assigns Rudy to take down a casino. It was claimed that the cell-mate Rudy's posing as once ran a casino on a Native American reservation near Detroit, so Gabriel wants Rudy instructions of how the casino is set up, the security patterns and whatnot, anything that will make this heist a huge success. So Rudy, who's in a hole can only bluff his way out of the predicament because he's not the right person or the real person to pull it off.The film is full of holes it's enough to put Swiss cheese to shame. In one scene, Rudy tries to convince Gabriel that he's no the person who he really is and gives a hand-written letter to Gabriel to reveal if this is the right man. So why didn't Gabriel juxtapose the cell-mate's handwriting and Rudy's handwriting to see if this is the same person? Rudy could have reported this to the police, but see that he's being held by law breakers would violate his parole and he would be back in jail again. Some of the entanglements between the characters are quite hilarious and filled with unintended humour and the twists were jilted and contrived and it's hard to root for a leading character we don't really care about.Director John Frankenheimer uses his signature perplexity in making this movie. The real trouble here lies by utilizing his vision, he dismissed the flaws in Ehren Kruger's script. I can't believe that this script was written by the same person who wrote the much better thriller "Arlington Road". His attempt to be different badly hurt Kruger's script. The proof comes from Rudy escaping from the casino as he gets caught in the wilderness. He seems savvy at hot-wiring cars, so he just randomly hijacks one and makes a run for it. How ironic! Plenty of well-known performers are given only one scene and really have no point or any kind of focus to what the story is about. Others are on a substantial amount of time and were not really needed in the end which is always annoying and maddening. John Frankenheimer put in other hackneyed films in the past like "52 Pickup" amongst others and the results were an utter failure. He has potential to be really good, but finds himself lowering himself by making flops like Reindeer Games"and knowing how long he's been in this business he should have known better.The more accurate title should be called "Lamedeer Games".
seymourblack-1 The action in "Reindeer Games" takes place at Christmastime and this is also probably the best time of the year to watch the movie as it's funny, entertaining and best appreciated at a time when your critical faculties are not at their sharpest!! This slick thriller is action-packed and fast moving but also tense and very violent at times. The plot is complicated by numerous twists, mistaken identities and double-crosses and also a bunch of characters that are often very unpredictable. Characters called Rudy and Nick and a soundtrack full of Christmas songs contribute to the strong Christmas theme which is maintained throughout and the regular humorous moments provide an effective counterpoint to some of the more unsavoury things that happen on screen.Rudy (Ben Affleck) and Nick (James Frain) are a couple of cell-mates who are serving out their final few days in prison. Nick has, for some time, been corresponding with a young woman called Ashley (Charlize Theron) and tells Rudy how much he's looking forward to meeting up with her when he's released. Rudy replies that he's simply looking forward to going home and enjoying some pecan pie and hot chocolate.Shortly before he's due to leave prison, Nick gets killed in a mass brawl during which he also saves Rudy's life but as Ashley knows nothing of this, she waits outside the prison for him on the day when he's scheduled to be released. When Rudy leaves the prison and sees the beautiful Ashley, he decides to assume Nick's identity and the two of them then leave for a passionate evening at a nearby motel. Their fun soon comes to an abrupt end, however, when Ashley's psychopathic brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise) and his gang suddenly turn up.Gabriel knows from reading Nick's correspondence, that he used to work at a casino and now wants to make use of his knowledge of the business to enable him and his gang to rob the place. Rudy tries to explain that he's not Nick but Gabriel won't believe him and Rudy soon realises that even if he convinces Gabriel that he's not Nick, he will probably be shot because, as Rudy, he would be of no value to Gabriel. A series of rapid developments follow and Rudy winds up participating in the casino heist with the rest of the gang who are all dressed in Santa Claus outfits. Further surprises then follow before Rudy's nightmare finally comes to an end."Reindeer Games" gets off to a really intriguing start when the dead bodies of a number of Santa Clauses are seen lying in the snow and the story that led up to this situation is then told in flashback. The plot twists that follow produce a number of funny and surprising situations until the story finally concludes in a way which doesn't really bear too much scrutiny.Ben Affleck is tremendous as the unfortunate Rudy who, after making a bad decision to impersonate Nick, finds himself in more trouble and danger than he could ever have imagined. Charlize Theron is consistently good as the femme fatale who goes through a number of shocking changes and Gary Sinise looks incredibly evil and menacing as the villain of the piece.