The action in "Reindeer Games" takes place at Christmastime and this is also probably the best time of the year to watch the movie as it's funny, entertaining and best appreciated at a time when your critical faculties are not at their sharpest!! This slick thriller is action-packed and fast moving but also tense and very violent at times. The plot is complicated by numerous twists, mistaken identities and double-crosses and also a bunch of characters that are often very unpredictable. Characters called Rudy and Nick and a soundtrack full of Christmas songs contribute to the strong Christmas theme which is maintained throughout and the regular humorous moments provide an effective counterpoint to some of the more unsavoury things that happen on screen.

Rudy (Ben Affleck) and Nick (James Frain) are a couple of cell-mates who are serving out their final few days in prison. Nick has, for some time, been corresponding with a young woman called Ashley (Charlize Theron) and tells Rudy how much he's looking forward to meeting up with her when he's released. Rudy replies that he's simply looking forward to going home and enjoying some pecan pie and hot chocolate.

Shortly before he's due to leave prison, Nick gets killed in a mass brawl during which he also saves Rudy's life but as Ashley knows nothing of this, she waits outside the prison for him on the day when he's scheduled to be released. When Rudy leaves the prison and sees the beautiful Ashley, he decides to assume Nick's identity and the two of them then leave for a passionate evening at a nearby motel. Their fun soon comes to an abrupt end, however, when Ashley's psychopathic brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise) and his gang suddenly turn up.

Gabriel knows from reading Nick's correspondence, that he used to work at a casino and now wants to make use of his knowledge of the business to enable him and his gang to rob the place. Rudy tries to explain that he's not Nick but Gabriel won't believe him and Rudy soon realises that even if he convinces Gabriel that he's not Nick, he will probably be shot because, as Rudy, he would be of no value to Gabriel. A series of rapid developments follow and Rudy winds up participating in the casino heist with the rest of the gang who are all dressed in Santa Claus outfits. Further surprises then follow before Rudy's nightmare finally comes to an end.

"Reindeer Games" gets off to a really intriguing start when the dead bodies of a number of Santa Clauses are seen lying in the snow and the story that led up to this situation is then told in flashback. The plot twists that follow produce a number of funny and surprising situations until the story finally concludes in a way which doesn't really bear too much scrutiny.

Ben Affleck is tremendous as the unfortunate Rudy who, after making a bad decision to impersonate Nick, finds himself in more trouble and danger than he could ever have imagined. Charlize Theron is consistently good as the femme fatale who goes through a number of shocking changes and Gary Sinise looks incredibly evil and menacing as the villain of the piece.

Rudy Duncan and Nick Cassidy are cellmates who are both due to be released in a couple of days; Rudy talks of getting out and having a mug of hot chocolate while Nick talks of meeting up with his pen pal girlfriend, Ashley. Then Nick is stabbed and apparently killed during a riot. On his release Rudy goes up to Ashley, who hasn't seen Nick, and takes his cellmate's place. Rudy's luck doesn't last long; it turns out Ashley's psychotic brother, Gabriel, has learnt of her relationship with Nick... the problem is he expects 'Nick' to help him and his gang rob the casino he'd worked in. Rudy knows a few details that Nick had mentioned but not enough to confidently commit the robbery. He will have to think fast if he is to survive; especially after he learns so surprising facts.

This film, retitled 'Deception' here in the UK, opens well with a shot of a number of people in Santa costumes lying dead in the snow before jumping back six days to show us what led up to this scene. There is plenty of solid action, a real sense of danger and more twists than I expected. The story itself is rather far-fetched but as it moves at a decent pace that isn't a huge problem. Ben Affleck is solid as Rudy, Charlize Theron is suitably sexy as Ashley and Gary Sinise is delightfully over-the-top as Gabriel. There are plenty of twists, perhaps a few too many, as it turns out much of what characters and the viewer think is true turns to be a deception. Overall this isn't a must see but it is worth checking out if you are a fan of the genre.

Rudy Duncan (Ben Affleck) is doing 6 years for grand theft auto. He and his cell mate Nick (James Frain) are closing in on parole in a few days. A new arrival in prison thinks Rudy rat him out. Before he could get Rudy, he kills Nick instead. When Rudy gets out, he decides to impersonate Nick to get with his romantic pen pal Ashley (Charlize Theron) who Nick talks incessantly about. Then her brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise) forces him into the gang to rob a casino.

This is closing in on the end of director John Frankenheimer's career. He just doesn't have it anymore. Time has passed him by. The movie drags along for the longest time. It's extremely tiring to see boyish Ben trying real hard to look like a hardened ex-con. All the close up camera work is some kind of desperate attempt at artistic flare. The fact is that I am annoyed by Affleck in this movie and couldn't care less about the character.

The movie was within salvageable range with the gun fight action. The loud bangs could have drowned out the movie's troubles. Then it goes completely off the rails with an unreasonable twist. There isn't any point to anything by then. It becomes a giant mess.