Casino Jack

Though Casino Jack never lets its protagonist off the hook for his misdeeds, it does underline the hypocrisy of those politicians who were content to take his money but then ran for cover in February 2004 when the Washington Post began to expose his fleecing of six different Indian tribes.

Above all, however, Kevin Spacey is the reason to see Casino Jack. This movie will stand alongside "The Usual Suspects" and "American Beauty" as examples of what the actor is capable of accomplishing when he is properly motivated.

Spacey holds center. He's a bonfire.

Despite his character's fondness for mugging and mouthing like Michael Corleone, Spacey (and by extension, his director and writer Norman Snider) can't quite catch the operatic wallop of Corleone's arc, possibly because the film is played top-to-bottom like a caprice.

Casino Jack fails at its most critical mission: Laying out in clear detail exactly how and when Abramoff broke the law.

The trouble starts with the casting. The usually reliable Kevin Spacey never quite gets a handle on Abramoff, an Orthodox Jew devoted to unorthodox business methods.

That's the problem with the whole movie, which lies halfway between poker-face documentary and broad farce.

Fun show if divorced from reality. In reality, a reminder of the corruption and who really controls our government. I think Kevin Spacey did an excellent job. Also, nice cameo by my Mayor and Governor-elect in his late cousin's movie.

Casino Jack is enjoyable enough, but lacks pacing or originality; i felt like I was watching bits and pieces from other (better) films the whole time. Nonetheless, Spacey plays slick lobbyist Abramoff with just the right touch, and is well-suited for the role.

"Casino Jack" barely survives from its cliched plot and smart-looking-but-not dialogue thanks to Kevin Spacey.

If I had known this film was going to be campy instead of serious, I would not have gone. A disappointment considering the seriousness of the subject. Spacey needs an ego check as this almost becomes a B movie.

20 minutes in I did not know what was going on. 30 minutes in I wondered what I was watching. Is this a dark comedy? Why is the sniper guy from Saving Private Ryan in this, and in a suit. Where's his rifle? 40 minutes in I stopped to make tacos. After the most amazing tacos I tried again. 10 minutes later I stopped. What am I watching? There is about an hour left of movie. I'm not going to watch it. Dialog blows by so fast. It's full of words, it needs edited. It sounds like it's trying to be Catch Me If You Can meets Reservoir Dogs. It just does not work at all. It's too hard to follow what's going on, unless you are an expert in politics or followed this story and read every article about it. Understanding the plot of Mission Impossible is easier. Make tacos instead.