Snake Eyes
(1998)
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From its incredible opening tracking shot to its suspenseful finale, this Brian De Palma thriller maintains a giddy, fever pitch of cinematic style and excitement. Nicolas Cage stars as Atlantic City detective Ritchie Santoro (his explosive energy and flashy clothes mirror the tone of the film), who finds himself heading a high-level investigation after the U.S. secretary of defense is assassinated at the championship fight he's attending. Ritchie's old pal Naval Commander Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise) was assigned to guard the secretary and now fears for his career. A mysterious beautiful woman in white (Carla Gugino) has something to do with the case but is lost amid the 14,000 spectators trapped in the sealed-off arena crime scene. Meanwhile, a raging hurricane is tearing up the boardwalk outside, and as Ritchie begins to unravel the mystery through the casino's massive camera security system, he discovers truths he'd just as soon not have known about. Taking place almost entirely within the confines of the arena and casino on a single dark and stormy night, SNAKE EYES zips along merrily, delivering loads of glitzy atmosphere and fun, Hichcock-style suspense. The appropriately Bernard Herrmann-esque music score is by Ryuichi Sakamoto. |
The US Secretary of Defence is assassinated in full view of a huge audience gathered in an Atlantic City casino for a boxing championship. Can supercharged detective Nicolas Cage use his own recollections and those of key witnesses to find out whodunnit and unravel an ever-widening conspiracy? Although a stunning visual tour de force by director Brian De Palma (a virtuoso opening sequence, split screens, acrobatic cameras, the replaying of interconnected events from different angles and perspectives), this jigsaw murder mystery lacks suspense and disappoints as a thriller, with the expected slam-bang finale never materialising. Die-hard De Palma fanatics will love it, but others may think it's over-directed and rather pointless.
Halliwell's Film Guide
An implausible thriller on the theme of surveillance, with broad acting and some impressive directorial flourishes that keep the adrenalin flowing.