Cassidy, Jason Bourne, and Jesse Custer walk into a Casino…
by Kevin Gaussoin, Editor-in-Chief
Rounders hit theaters in 1998 and is now available in Blu-ray. Strangely, the movie does not open with a 1-800-BETS-OFF card.
Spoilers after the cut!
Phoenix was tempted to make him angry
Mike McDermott (Matt Damon – The Ocean’s Trilogy, The Bourne Trilogy, Dogma, Eurotrip, True Grit) is a “rounder” or professional poker player living in New York City and going to law school with his girlfriend Jo (Gretchen Mol – The 13th Floor, Life on Mars, Boardwalk Empire). Jo has kept Mike on the straight and narrow for months since he lost all his thirty thousand dollars in a seedy underground no limit Texas Hold-Em game to seedy underground club owner known as Teddy KGB (John Malkovich – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Eragon, Beowulf, Jonah Hex). KGB reportedly has strong mob ties and thus is someone one shouldn’t mess with. Mike’s old poker buddy Lester ‘Worm’ Murphy (Edward Norton – Fight Club, Incredible Hulk, NotInAvengers) gets Mike to pick him up as he’s released from jail. Mike’s quit gambling cause he doesn’t want to lose his shirt again, and declines to play along with Worm’s shifty cheating tricks. Of course that doesn’t last long, and soon Mike has gambled away the respect of his girlfriend but is winning at taking on debt, danger, and well-deserved beat-downs.
Deserved? Look at my pretty face and say that again.
While Worm was in jail, Grama (Michael Rispoli – The Sopranos, Invincible, Kick-Ass) bought up Worm’s debts, but not without the financial backing of KGB. So in order to try and save Worm’s life, Mike takes the debt on himself as well, and the pair race to win enough to pay off his debt to Grama and KGB in time.
Even with the well wishes of shady gambling moneylender Petra (Famke Janssen – Golden Eye, X-Men Trilogy, Nip/Tuck), sage advice from mentor and career poker player Joey Knish (John Turturro – The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Transformers), and a sizable stake loan from his law professor Abe Petrovsky (Martin Landau – The Twilight Zone, Space: 1999, The Wild Wild West, Ed Wood, Spider-Man, X-Files: Fight the Future) will Mike be able to face off against KGB again and win? And if he does, will he be able to deny getting called back in for double-or-nothing? WIll he get what he deserves? Will John Malcovich knock it off with that crazy unbelievable accent? Will I ever be this good at poker?
Video
While the transfer is what you’d expect from a late 90s film, there are a lot of dark and heavily tinted scenes in Rounders. This isn’t an action or effects film, so it probably doesn’t matter much. Blu-ray tells us that not only will this disc last way longer than a DVD, but it’s in 1080p high-def. Perhaps the reason it’s taken this long to bring this to Blu-ray is that this sort of movie just isn’t improved that much by a Blu-ray release.
Audio
Besides the fact that there is DTS surround sound, there is not much to say. The music is pleasant and appropriate and the vocals and effects are perfectly not memorable.
Extras
If you are a Matt Damon fan, you’re in this for the movie; if you’re a poker fan, the special features are really going to be enjoyable. Obviously the more of a pro you are, the less special features will be appealing, as there are extras for everyone from beginners on up. Advanced players and WSOP fans will especially appreciate the Feature Commentary with the Pros. Here’s what we get:
• Behind-the-Scenes Special
• Inside Professional Poker
• Feature Commentary with Professional Poker Players
• Feature Commentary with Cast & Crew
• Champion Poker Tips
Pro Tip: Keep your victory dances short and tight.
Overall
Rounders plays like a cautionary tale at first, but then becomes a fantasy. Your first clue: it has dreamy Matt Damon in it, duh. Mike is written like he’s some kind of hero, and with Matt Damon playing him, we believe it wholeheartedly. But really he’s a frighteningly addicted character who while he possesses great skill, is ultimately luckier than he ought to be. In the end as he rides off into the sunrise, off to fulfill his dream of flying to Las Vegas to enter the World Series of Poker, having saved his no-good jerk of a friend, we’re left to wonder if this was sponsored by some Las Vegas agency. At the same time: It’s a good movie. I liked Mike and all the while wanted him to stop screwing up and act smart. Ah well, I hear there may be a sequel.
ComicsOnline gives Rounders on Blu-ray 3 out of 5 aces.
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