| Not to be confused with the cyberpunk story of the same name, Snake Eyes is a technical tour de force. That said, it is also sadly lacking in one important element - surprise and tension. Two important elements, surprise, tension, and full characters. Besides lacking three elements, surprise, tension, interesting characters, and more distracting MacGuffins, Snake Eyes sure looked great. Seriously great. I was on the edge of my seat not waiting for the plot to unfold but eagerly drinking in Stephen H. Burums kick ass camera work. Walking out of the theatre I felt satisfied, like I had eaten a good meal. |
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| I forgot all about the movie as I continued with my day, and then when recounting what movie I had seen, could not quite recall. This gave me pause. |
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Burum on camera would be nothing without editor Bill Pankow; they joined forces to create what appears to be a long (nearly 20 minutes) unedited tracking shot (but my friend and I counted at least 3 hidden cuts) - this is the best part of the movie without a doubt - that and the fact that the showmanly shot is revisited from different points of view later in the film. This also is way interesting. The credits roll over seemingly innocuous construction work, also unedited (but only like, 5-8 minutes) but stick around - there's a payoff! |
| The opening tracking shot does little to introduce the plot, but it is excellent in introducing Nicolas Cage's character and the intricate arena/casino setting. One theory presented by my crowd is that it's all a constructed soundstage, in which case my hat is off to the art department too. It's all very underplayed, though - if you're not looking for it and trying to get caught up in the story, you will not enjoy this movie as much as I did.
As it stands, just as a film, it starts out with a bang and seems to be very intricate and interesting, but (and you know how I hate to give away things) it sort of plays its trump card and then sits there. It's like the movie starts at 11 and there's nowhere to go from there. OK, it starts at 10, goes to 11 within say, 30 minutes, and then we are left with the simple pleasure of watching Nicolas Cage and Gary Sinise try and save the film by the sheer force of their charisma and talent. |
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| And who is that very pretty girl who looks like she is being shot through a soft focus all the time, like William Shatner's Star Trek closeups? She's "all that and a bag of chips," but they're Olestra chips. Voom! All gone. |
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So if you want to study camera technique and the art of a long shot, watch this instead of the execrable Anaconda because if nothing else, Cage makes anything more watchable than Jon Voigt. But if you want to see a movie that will thrill you and blow your mind, save your money. But if you find it available for rental and it's pan and scan, don't bother - the best part of the film will be lost to you. |
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