A little drunk on its own arcane exotica as a gambling movie, Rounders is a film that takes us inside a world of high-stakes card players but falls short on such essentials as character development and relationships. Still, it is a real curiosity, written by a couple of guys (David Levien and Brian Koppelman) who appear to know something about the dark underbelly of card hustling for fun and profit. Matt Damon stars as a reluctant law student who can't put aside his subterranean career of playing poker and blackjack for big money. After he loses his post-grad nest egg to a weird Russian kingpin (John Malkovich)--and also loses his disgusted girlfriend (Gretchen Mol) in the process--Damon's character turns to an unreliable old buddy (Edward Norton) for a dangerous game of sharking wherever there happens to be a game underway: frat boys, cops, bad dudes, you name it. Norton appears to be living out every young actor's fantasy of re-creating Robert De Niro's prot! otypical head case in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, and while his performance is burdened by obvious quotation marks, his estimable talent still shines through. Damon's charm and intelligence bring some oomph to the curiously flat proceedings, and while his hushed, soul-bearing scenes with Martin Landau (as a law professor who takes a shine to the kid) seem gratuitous, they're still nice to watch. Behind all this is director John Dahl (Red Rock West), who is not exactly at the top of his game here but who brings his distinctive toughness to the crime-noir tone.--Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
The 'Hustler' of Poker movies Essentially, 'Rounders' is an acting clinic. Top-notch talent is used here, the best of which are Damon and Norton. Damon's everyman card shark is just on the border of respectibility, and has a sense of duty and loyalty that haven't been seen since the days of chivalry - but Damon is at his best here, disarmingly charming, easygoing, but with a heart of stone at the table. Norton's Worm is a degenerate all the way, but still with that leftover rebelliousness from his youth that just invites trouble... more info
"Always leave yourself outs" I have watched this movie several times in the last few years, and have been playing Texas Hold'em for a similar amount of time. When this special edition came out, I knew I had to check it out; and I was not disappointed, since besides the great movie, it includes a nice collection of extras.
Mike (Damon) is a grinder that plays poker as if it was a job. He has used his skills to pay his way through law school by gambling day after day without falling outside the boundaries of his method. But now... more info
A Bit Rubbish This really isn`t a very good film at all. Even if you`re a poker player. Make that, especially if you`re a poker player. None of it rings true. For a start the plot is so cliched you`ll spend a great deal of time playing "spot the reference". This film is more like "The Hustler", than "The Cincinnati Kid", but manages to rip off the pair of them. Most of the poker quotes are lifted straight from Doyle Brunson`s classic book "Power Poker" and the actual poker playing scenes are nonsense; even the best... more info
one of the best My favorite movie on poker. You will love it
![Rounders [1998]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41CWM3MBBYL._SL160_.jpg)
