Snake Eyes

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Snake Eyes ★★ ½ 1998 (R)

Stylish thriller with Nick Cage at his wild-eyed best. Cage is corrupt Atlantic City cop Rick Santoro, investigating the bold assassination of Secretary of Defense Kirkland (Fabiani) during a heavyweight boxing match. The first half of the film packs a visual punch, with De Palma's trademark jazzy camera work, but shortly after Santoro partners with his Navy officer pal Kevin Dunne (Sinise), and realizes nothing is what it seems, story is ko'd with a combination of implausibility and a lackluster climax. De Palma's first film since directing the b.o. smash “Mission Impossible.” Shot exclusively in a Montreal skating arena. 99m/C VHS, DVD . Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinise, Carla Gugino, John Heard, Stan Shaw, Kevin Dunn, Michael Rispoli, Joel Fabiani, Luis Guzman, Tamara Tunie; D: Brian De Palma; W: David Koepp; C: Stephen Burum; M: Ryuichi Sakamoto.