SNAKE EYES
RATING: 6.5 / 10 --> So-so
Review Date:
August 8, 1998
Director:
Brian DePalma
Writer:
David Koepp
Producers:
Brian DePalma, David Koepp, Gale Anne Hurd, Jeff Levine
Actors:
Nicolas Cage as Rick Santoro
Gary Sinise as Major Kevin Dunne
Carla Gugino as Julia Costello
Genre:
Thriller
Year of Release: 1998
Brian DePalma returns to his directorial seat after his last
commercial outing in 1996 with Tom Cruise in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
(8/10). Last summer, Brian, Nicolas Cage and Gary Sinise were the
talk of my hometown of Montreal, as they took over the sporting
alma mater of the Montreal Canadians, the Forum, for a period of
three months over the summer. Anybody who was anybody, including
anybodies who weren't anybody, got parts as extras on this set,
including my brother and my good friend The Arrow (Neither of
whom can be clearly identified in the finished product.)
PLOT:
Richie Santoro (Cage) is a crooked beat cop who works the dirty
streets of Atlantic City. His childhood friend Major Kevin Dunne
(Sinise) has moved on with his life, and now works as the right
hand man of the US Secretary of Defense. The night is "fight
night" in Atlantic City, with everyone in the crowd, and a
raging hurricane gasping outside. During the boxing match, the
Secretary of Defense gets shot in the neck by a sniper. Santoro
becomes the investigating cop of the shooting, as evidence of a
conspiracy to kill the man comes to light. The mystery behind the
shooting is the focus of the rest of the film.
CRITIQUE:
Highly stylized, extremely talkative, generally actionless, and
lightly entertaining mystery from the man who has made
pick-pocketing from one of the greatest directors of all time,
Alfred Hitchcock, part of his own legend. This film does not
maintain many moments of extreme thrills or surprises. It does
put together a decent mystery plot by way of flashbacks (Written
by David Koepp, the man who also penned MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, the
two JURASSIC PARK's and DePalma's CARLITO'S WAY (7.5/10)), with
some typically slick styling from DePalma, all the while running
in real time, but the overall framework of the film leaves little
to get excited about. The montage used during the final credit
crawl is also one of the worst and most boring of all time.
Nicolas Cage does a decent job of over-acting his over the top
character here, and so does Sinise as the ambiguous friend from
the day. Juliette Binoche look-alike Carla Gugina from TV's
"Spin City" also turns in a fitting performance as the
girl in distress. I must admit that my recent viewing of THE NEGOTIATOR
(7/10) might've set my
standards for thrills a little higher for this one, but either
way, this movie's plot does little to innovate the genre, while
continuing to homage the genre that made DePalma who he is today.
Admittedly, I was impressed with another one of DePalma's classic
one-shot-camera opening sequences, this one lasting at least 20
minutes, and many of his other camera tricks, but overall, the
movie seemed flawed in its attempt to enrapture the audience's
imagination, and deliver on a solid ending. The parts after the
official denouement were actually some of the funniest scenes in
the movie, while the final scene just seemed like another
Hollywood demand gone acknowledged. All in all, I guess you
should go see this film, if you really like DePalma, his style
and his mysteries (Or if you know somebody who may have played an
extra in the audience.) If not, you could easily wait for the
video version of this film, which will surely appetize your
visually demanding gut and fill any 100-minute gap that's needed
in your life.
Little Known Facts:
Originally, Al
Pacino was slated to play the
role of Major Kevin Dunne (Now played by Gary Sinise.)
Nicolas Cage received a salary of US$16,000,000 for his
role in this movie.
Gary Sinise's character name in this film is Kevin
Dunne. The main boxing reporter's real-life name from this movie
is Kevin Dunn (Brother of famed Saturday Night Live
alumnus Nora
Dunn.)
Carla Gugino began a modeling career at the tender age
of 15.
In 1976, Gary Sinise co-founded Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre
with his friend, and fellow Oscar nominated actor, John Malkovich.
Brian DePalma's middle name is Russell. He is the son of
a surgeon, and once directed Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark" music
video.
(c) 1998 Berge Garabedian
Movie Reviews by Berge Garabedian