Reindeer Games

Too much talking and not nearly enough gun-toting action bog down this already inane crime thriller that tries way too hard to impress with loopy plot twists that come at a dizzying pace. A miscast Affleck is Rudy Duncan, a just released convict who takes on the identity of his recently deceased cellmate in order to get cozy with Ashley (Theron), who had established a correspondence with the dead inmate. The couple spends blissful days together via aerobic sex until Ashley's sadistic "brother" Gabriel (Sinise) forces Rudy to help him and his skanky gang rob an Indian casino on Christmas Eve. Pic is surprisingly flat, deadening the impact of the surprise endings that come in rapid succession, which unintentionally transform the film into a parody of itself.