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Rounders
 | Rounders Date: 02 April, 2002 — $17.99 — DVD / VHS Rating: |
If you've been caught up in the poker craze that's swept significant parts of the nation in the past few years, you should watch this film. If you think a film starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton can't be all that bad, you're right. If you want a story with interesting characters and plot, well, this one's okay in those departments.
But only okay. The plot was more than a little predictable, the characters weren't overly complex. That said, if you like a "friends standing by their friends," and "dude avenging a central failure in his life when given a second chance," you'll like this film. It's not as though it hasn't been done before with other subjects at its heart, but it's done fairly well here, so even if it's not cultivating new ground, who cares?
As I said, Damon and Norton are each good, as they usually are. They make their characters live, I suspect, through sheer acting ability more so than by what they're given in the script. And let's not forget John Malkovich, who's solid in his portrayal of Damon's nemesis, Teddy KGB, or John Turturro, who does a fine job even with the under-utilized character he's given.
Ultimately, this is a film which probably could have been more, certainly could have been less, and ultimately is just fine.