Oliver Reznik reviewedApril 8, 2025
I remember seeing this 10+ years ago and thinking it was like a 4.5. Actually I was pretty high on it while watching, but gradually came down, and came down further upon reflection.
This movie has great, charismatic performances. I particularly liked Doyle. The movie does a good job setting up his character so that the poker scene is super satisfying to watch and very high tension.
And the movie flows very well. It's pacing seems almost akin to modern mainstream sensibilities a la Nolan for example.
Where does this movie fall flat? I think mostly I just get this increasing sense of its own self-satisfaction in all the clever little schemes it's characters pull. Of course it's very easy to pull off clever little schemes when they're written into the script. There's a scene where some random guy working for the main characters cuts off Doyle from getting in line. And the illusion of the story is sort of ripped away. It's one example, but gees there's no limit to the powers of deception the main characters' possess. They've hired hundreds of people to pull off elaborate, time consuming ruses where your imagination is the limit of what they can do. Pushed further when the final trick is played on the mark and the audience itself and it turns out those people forcing the main character into a difficult moral quandary are also in on the whole thing.
It's a fun movie, but also a little insulting?