Rounders

Screenwriters Brian Koppelman and David Levien have given some crackerjack card-shark dialogue to two hot young actors-Matt Damon and Edward Norton-and together with John Dahl's atmospheric direction they've all made a dream of a poker movie. more

Rounders is such a smart, tough little film that its strengths override its fairly serious weaknesses. more

Mischievously entertaining...Dahl's film has character in oversupply even if its actual characters are sometimes thin. Poker fever makes up for whatever the story lacks in everyday emotions. more

This isn't a movie where story matters that much: It's a movie of character and milieu, both of which it evokes brilliantly. more

For a grimmer and more realistic look at this world, no modern movie has surpassed Karel Reisz's "The Gambler'' (1974), starring James Caan in a screenplay by self-described degenerate gambler James Toback. more

In spite of how hard everything is to believe, you believe what Damon is doing. more

Most novel is Rounders' message that the real sin isn't giving into vice but denying your God-given talents and not risking it all. more

Although the storyline is predictable, the intelligent dialogue and top-drawer acting more than make up for the possible deficiency. more

Damon is a magical actor. His mind, as sharp and focused as a laser, beams out of the face of a vivacious choirboy, and, in nearly every scene, he invites you to share the jet-propelled pleasure of his precocious agility. more

Because I'm a sucker--I was entertained...The script is good at making you think that it has better cards than it really does. And the actors constitute a royal flush--OK, OK, enough with the poker metaphors. more

After losing almost everything, Mike (Matt Damon) decides never to gamble again and leads a satisfied life with his girlfriend until he is re-united with his childhood mate Worm (Edward Norton) after his release from prison. Mike feels slightly obliged to Worm since he prefers imprisonment to rating out Mike's name. Being attracted back to gambling, Mike ultimately ends up losing his girlfriend whom he'd promised not to gamble again. Besides, he couldn't pursue his career in law adequately. The two friends get together and are out to sweep the town so as to repay a debt, but things don't... more

This was very disappointing. Matt Damon was flat, and though Ed Norton was good, he couldn't save it. Complete waste of talent: John Turturro and John Malkovich also fell victim to this awful script. The main question is this: does the main character have a gambling addiction, or is this a game of skill at which he's talented? Unfortunately, not even the writer seems to care. more

Teddy KGB: It hurts doesn't it? Your hopes dashed, your dreams down the toilet. And your fate is sitting right besides you. If your a fan of Poker, Ed Norton, Matt Damon, Poolhall Junkies, or small supporting roles from John Turturro, you'll probably like this movie. Nothing particularly special about this movie, but it's fun, and has a lot of good actors in it. Worm: She's really got him by the balls. Petra: That's not so bad, is it? Worm: It depends on the grip! more

Rounders has to be considered one of the greatest poker movies of all time, and while it's formula may be reminiscent of past cliche's, it manages to make for a more than entertaining film. Damon and Norton play their partnership roles in this film very well, and while Damon may be undercooked in most of his scenes, Norton manages to bring back the fire into the picture. Rounders is also not only a simple poker movie, but a look at a powerful message that instills the prospect of perseverance against oppression, achieved in Damon's character's struggle to "fulfill destiny". But where... more

This formulaic but insanely entertaining drama falters in the area of emotional connection, but it's solidly directed and the acting is good. Norton is the stand-out in an energetic and very convincing performance. more

There are two types of people watching Rounders: those who play poker and those who don't. If you can identify in any way with Matt Damon in this movie, it's going to captivate you. If you're not a card player... you can probably forget it. Mike McDermott (Damon) is a professional poker player and a law school student, in that order. One night, in an attempt to raise the capital for a trip to Las vegas to play in the World Series of Poker, McDermott loses his whole bankroll, $30K, to the owner of his favorite underground card club, Teddy KGB (John Malkovich). The next day, he swears off... more