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Review by Susan Granger
1½ stars out of 4
Brian DePalma's a brash master of suspense and he tackles
David Koepp's story with cinematic gusto. Set in a glitzy Atlantic
City casino called the Millennium on the night that a tropical
hurricane named Jezebelis bearing down on the New Jersey coast, the
action revolves around a live, pay-per-view heavyweight championship
boxing match. Nicolas Cage plays a manic, sleazy detective whose
motto is: "If there's anything I know, it's how to cover my ass."
He's ringside, watching the bout with his bestfriend, Gary Sinese,
the naval officer in charge of security for the visiting Secretary
of Defense. As the fight begins, in the midst of the cheering crowd,
there are two, mysterious, out-of-place people. A woman wearing a
tight, white suit and cheap blonde wig plops down next to the Secretary
and hands him an envelope, while a buxom redhead positions herself
a short distance away. Gunshots blast the government official before
the knockout and pandemonium prevails as 14,000 terrified patrons
stampede for the exits. And this all happens at the beginning of the
movie - in one, technically awesome, uninterrupted 20-minute
take. After that, unfortunately, everything else pales. Carla
Gugino, as a nearsighted, blood-spattered young woman, holds the key
to the truth. Obviously, there's a conspiracy and, inevitably,
corruption is the underlying cause. It's all quite implausible and
the mindless, contrived ending is infuriating. One interesting
sidelight, however, is the massive, computer-controlled casino
surveillance equipment that can find anyone, no matter how well
they're hidden. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Snake Eyes"
is a stylistic, exhausting 4. This wannabe mystery-thriller misses
the mark by a wide margin.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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out of 4
