(Rated R, 105 min.)
Opens Feb. 25
A crime thriller centering around an ex-con trying to go clean. But before Ben Affleck’s character knows what hit him, he is forced back into a life of crime in an elaborate scheme to knock over a casino during the Christmas holiday.

Director John Frankenheimer, who brought us last year’s “Ronin”, now brings the story of a man imprisoned for six years for auto theft. Rudy Duncan (Ben Affleck) and his cellmate Nick (James “Hilary and Jackie” Frain) are about to be paroled when Nick is killed in a prison riot. All along, Nick had been corresponding with a woman he never met. Assuming Nick’s identity, Rudy meets up with the woman (Charlize Theron) and her brother (Gary Sinise) who force him to cooperate in a casino robbery.

Affleck is so cute and polished that it takes awhile to get past that pretty-boy face and take him seriously as a tough bad boy. He was more convincing as a devilish character in the recent “Dogma”, but his charm works in overtaking the role of ex-con carrying along Charlize Theron, who’s pretty to look at, but showed much more ability in the recent “Cider House Rules” and even her big-break role in “Mighty Joe Young.” Sinise is flawless as always, this time in an unusual role choice. A twist of the usual wild goose chase story, it’s a film that all in all, does works.