This is the result of having to make more of the story that was ever there. And the general attempt at creating a bunch of bad guys behind the scenes is filled with thin clichés and mediocre acting. An embarrassing appearance in the beginning and end of the movie by an overacting John Malkovich gets in the way of Damon's performance, however. So everything is pretty good along those lines, partly because Damon is fun to be with and Norton is simply terrific. The setting, the glint of money, and most of all the plots matter less than you'd think. Like the pool movies, and like the glitzier and more ambitious 'Oceans' movies, personalities matter most. Matt Damon is the main man here, an ex-poker champ who has 'gone straight' until his former partner in crime, Ed Norton, gets out of jail and ropes him back into the thrills and malevolence.
And like that classic, 'Rounders' is about charming deceit.
A quick comparison might be made to 'The Hustler' and related pool shark movies. It isn't quite enough to keep two hours going, however, and so the big picture here is to enjoy what it has. That makes for a pretty good movie, if not a very accurate reality. Rounders (1998) A charming idea, almost romanticized: if you are young, clever, good looking, and savvy at playing poker you can be ultra cool and maybe even wealthy.
