I'd never heard of the movie DECEPTION , possibly because it's known as REINDEER GAMES in America ( I really had a problem trying to track the title down at this site ) but what struck was the short synopsis given to it in the TV page of the newspaper : " An ex-con adopts his former cellmate's identity in order to meet the man's girlfriend . Thriller with Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron " . Instantly I thought I would be watching something similar to NIGHT OF THE HUNTER , yeah okay Ben Affleck sure ain't Robert Mitchum but the plot sounded very similar . Unfortunately what let's this movie down is the script along with the star
So I should have guessed that Affleck wasn't going to play a bad guy , but let's face it he can't play good guys either - he is a very poor actor who only became famous because of his connection with Matt Damon which goes to prove it's not what you know , it's who you know that's the key to success . Pain , mortal fear , angst - Affleck is unable to portray any of these negative emotions and considering his character Rudy/Nick spends much of the movie getting beaten up and threatened this is a major draw back to the movie . Nice to know we won't be seeing him in too many movies in the future and if Matt Damon is looking for a new best friend I'd happily nominate myself . Let's do lunch Matt . Thankfully Gary Sinese and Danny Trejo ( Check out this guy's bio ) manage to carry the film with their performances
The screenplay by Ehron Kruger doesn't play out like NIGHT OF THE HUNTER , the " Man stealing the identity of his dead cellmate " subplot is just used to set up the story and if anything resembles CLIFFHANGER with a bunch of bad ass gangsters holding their victim hostage to get what they want . There's lots of chases in the snow and the occasional passer by getting bumped off but there's some ridiculous plot holes . For example Rudy and his girlfriend are drowning under the ice so Rudy uses his gun to shoot his way out of a watery grave . What he can fire a gun under water ? And there's a scene where Rudy is shackled to a bed . He then manages to break free , go to a swimming pool to discover a plot twist , go back to the hotel room he is held hostage and dupe one of the bad guys into believing he's still shackled to the bed by having the bed rest on his foot , then the action cuts to the morning where Rudy is taken out to the villains' van . It's just that come the morning none of the baddies has noticed that Rudy has dismantled the bed to escape his shackles . Little things like this ruin the DECEPTION's thriller elements . I know in these type of movies you have to suspend disbelief sometimes but here you have to suspend it a little too much for the movie to be effective . And because it's John Frankenheimer's last movie many of the reviewers seem to slightly more forgiving about this thriller's faults than I am
So I should have guessed that Affleck wasn't going to play a bad guy , but let's face it he can't play good guys either - he is a very poor actor who only became famous because of his connection with Matt Damon which goes to prove it's not what you know , it's who you know that's the key to success . Pain , mortal fear , angst - Affleck is unable to portray any of these negative emotions and considering his character Rudy/Nick spends much of the movie getting beaten up and threatened this is a major draw back to the movie . Nice to know we won't be seeing him in too many movies in the future and if Matt Damon is looking for a new best friend I'd happily nominate myself . Let's do lunch Matt . Thankfully Gary Sinese and Danny Trejo ( Check out this guy's bio ) manage to carry the film with their performances
The screenplay by Ehron Kruger doesn't play out like NIGHT OF THE HUNTER , the " Man stealing the identity of his dead cellmate " subplot is just used to set up the story and if anything resembles CLIFFHANGER with a bunch of bad ass gangsters holding their victim hostage to get what they want . There's lots of chases in the snow and the occasional passer by getting bumped off but there's some ridiculous plot holes . For example Rudy and his girlfriend are drowning under the ice so Rudy uses his gun to shoot his way out of a watery grave . What he can fire a gun under water ? And there's a scene where Rudy is shackled to a bed . He then manages to break free , go to a swimming pool to discover a plot twist , go back to the hotel room he is held hostage and dupe one of the bad guys into believing he's still shackled to the bed by having the bed rest on his foot , then the action cuts to the morning where Rudy is taken out to the villains' van . It's just that come the morning none of the baddies has noticed that Rudy has dismantled the bed to escape his shackles . Little things like this ruin the DECEPTION's thriller elements . I know in these type of movies you have to suspend disbelief sometimes but here you have to suspend it a little too much for the movie to be effective . And because it's John Frankenheimer's last movie many of the reviewers seem to slightly more forgiving about this thriller's faults than I am