Snake Eyes starring Nicolas Cage,
Gary Sinise, John Heard, Carla
Gugino, Stan Shaw
Snake Eyes starring Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinise, John Heard, Carla Gugino, Stan Shaw
Brian De Palmas 1998 thriller is largely an exercise in airing out his
orchestral, oversized visual style (think of his Blowout, Body Double, or
Raising Cain) for the heck of it. The far-fetched story features Nicolas
Cage as a crooked police detective attending a championship boxing
match at which the Secretary of Defense is assassinated. The unfortunate
Secretarys right-hand man (Gary Sinise) happens to be Cages old friend, a
fact that complicates the cops efforts to reconstruct the crime from
conflicting accounts--a directorial strategy bearing similarities to
Kurosawas Rashomon. The outrageousness of the scenario essentially
gives De Palma permission to construct a baroque cathedral of
spectacular camera stunts, which (he well knows) are inevitably more
interesting than the hoary conspiracy plot. (The opening scene alone,
which runs on for a number of minutes and consists of one, unbroken shot
that moves in from the street, following Cage up and down stairs, and in
and out of rooms until finally ending ringside at the match, is breathtaking.)
The shifting points of view--based on the contradictory statements of
witnesses--also give De Palma license to get creative with camera angles
and scene rearrangements. The script bogs down in the third act, but De
Palma is just revving up for a big, operatic finish that is absolutely
gratuitous but undeniably impressive. Yes, its style over substance in
Snake Eyes, but what style were talking about.--Tom Keogh
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
Snake Eyes starring Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinise, John Heard, Carla Gugino, Stan Shaw - 5
Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!