Snake Eyes

One grudgingly feels compelled to recommend Brian De Palma's paranoid thriller for the sheer bravura of the virtuoso Steadicam sequence that opens the film. The camera tracks corrupt, glad-handing cop Ricky Santoro (Nicolas Cage at his brazen best) as he makes his way through an arena enroute to his seat for a heavyweight bout. He schmoozes his girlfriend over a cell-phone, verbally spars with the champion (Stan Shaw), shakes down a drug dealer, places a bet and hooks up with his lifelong friend Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise), a Navy Commander in charge of security for the Secretary of Defense, who is promptly assassinated. The truth is out there, and as Ricky investigates, the opening scene is repeated from various perspectives, unraveling a conspiracy that is a surprise less to the audience than it is to Ricky. DePalma, to quote Ricky, was made for this sewer, baby, but as assured as he is with a camera, he is still basically shooting craps when it comes to portraying believable female characters. Lame dialogue, too, makes this less than a sure bet, as do the mounting plot impossibilities (would you don a disguise of a blinding white dress and wig if you didn't want to attract attention?). But the camerawork and Cage do hit the jackpot. Optional. (K. Lee Benson)