Rounders (Wide Screen) DVD Reviews

Ok so lets look at the story line briefely. A law school student ( Matt Damon) wins a large sum of money over a long period of time playing in back street poker games. With the dream of making it big in Las Vegas he puts it all on the line, and loses his tuition for Law school. he promsises to his live in girlfriend that he won't play poker again, but when his childhood friend (Edward Norton) comes out of prison, temptation to play poker again becomes too much to bear. This film shows the duo battling to repay a large debt owed by the friend recently released from prison.

The one thing that immediately strikes the viewer is how focused this movie is on poker. There is about a minutes introduction to the game of poker and how it is played shown in the first ten minutes of the movie, but from here on in all understanding of the game is needed previousley by the viewer. For anybody who has played a game or two of poker in their time right the way through to profesionals, this film is easily understandable, but for those who have never atempted the game, it is quite a tricky movie to understand throughout.

The major thing that sets this movie aside from other poker related films is that the storyline is origional and interesting with enough twists and turns to keep excitement going. This coupled with the strong performances from many of the key characters in the film make this an exceptional film that takes a different view on the poker world. It is easy to see why this filmis regarded as the best poker film to be made to date by many inffluential players in the game.

Overall this is a strong movie and very entertaining, but it is very specific and so those without any poker knowledge may find themselves lost very early on. This is why i have rated this as only a seven, due to its narrowed target audience.