Reindeer Games

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

One of the smartest action thrillers to come along in the past few years. It's also one of the freshest.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

May not reinvent the wheel, but its expertly delivered thrills would hit the spot at any time of year.

Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan

Some movie-goers will be more annoyed than surprised by the finale.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

He's (Affleck) vaguely likable, but he's outshone by his co-stars and never particularly believable in his role.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

This new heist movie by the great thriller director John Frankenheimer flails around like its own dysfunctional gang of casino robbers.

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

A cleverly plotted, cleanly crafted matinee item -- pure entertainment on a romping continuum with Frankenheimer's "Ronin."

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

It bristles with the brute force he brought to 1986's underrated "52 Pick-Up."

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The plot's preposterous and Affleck is way too callow for a role that would have fit Robert Mitchum like a second-hand suit.

Film.com Tom Keogh

Comes across as a deceptively streamlined comic-drama; an unnervingly violent, gritty film noir with a wink.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

The end is a long time coming in Reindeer Games and the dialogue is mostly slush.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The material here, written by Ehren Kruger, is beneath banal, and the three leads are so miscast that it's like watching a dress charade.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Displays no ambition to be anything more than a synthetic sense-jolt conveyor of the week.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

In this beautifully devious, exceptionally well-made entertainment, Mr. John Frankenheimer does it all, and more, with the assurance of an old master.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

The best and worst of old school -- retro but stale. Frankenheimer, along with Ben Affleck, donates what cool there is.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

The out-of-control plot doesn't unfold gracefully or organically; it simply speeds along with no regard for anything other then getting to the next plot twist.

Mr. Showbiz Richard T. Jameson

The picture, a would-be thriller, is a mechanical exercise from the get-go, one that positively defies suspension of disbelief with each succeeding twist of a plot no one would ever hatch in real life.

Village Voice Amy Taubin

Punishing, visceral violence is the key element.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The movie is staged like a pit stop -- Reindeer Games goes from being fun to being laughable.

Slate David Edelstein

The picture is an empty parlor trick, but it's carried out with a master's concentration.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Its twisty film noir world of down-on-their-luck men and unfathomable women is vintage B-picture material, but, in the grand B tradition, the games it plays are more ambitious than successful.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

As late Christmas presents go, Reindeer Games is best left unwrapped.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The first All Talking Killer picture. After the setup, it consists mostly of characters explaining their actions to one another.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

By the time the closing credits roll, you're wondering if anyone else noticed that nothing made much sense.

Film.com Gemma Files

About an hour after you've seen it, you'll already be fuzzy on just who was screwing who, and why

Variety Todd McCarthy

With a far-fetched script that might barely have passed muster at the B units in the old studio days, this Dimension release will command a certain up-front attention due to cast topliners.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

A director of Frankenheimer's stature deserves less sensationalistic material, and so does his audience.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Without any believable characters or situations, Reindeer Games is about as appealing as leftover Christmas fruitcake.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Affleck simply wasn't meant to play action heroes or tough guys. He's about as tough as tapioca pudding.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

I had a pretty good time with this until the end, when I felt so soiled by the filmmakers' cynicism and the characters' gratuitous viciousness that I wanted to take a bath.

Newsweek Ann-Rebecca Laschever

The foreboding, dark camera-work is effective in setting the mood for this sinister, eye- popping, frequently ridiculous thriller.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Here's a film that so merrily thumbs its nose at propriety in exchange for visceral thrills, and at probability in exchange for the really cool plot twist, that it checks in as the guiltiest pleasure since "The 13th Warrior."

Salon.com Charles Taylor

Ben Affleck provides a charismatic star turn, but John Frankenheimer's out-of-season heist thriller is dead on arrival.

Portland Oregonian Diana Abu-Jaber

While you may like comedies and you make like thrillers, this film does neither of the above with any pizazz.