Featured Audience Ratings

• Chris W

  
  Matt Damon is Mike McDermott, a law student who makes his primary living as a rounder- a master poker player who makes the rounds from club to club making the big bucks. After losing it all to Teddy KGB, a ruthless Russian with mob ties played by John Malkovich, Mike gets out and vows… More
  Matt Damon is Mike McDermott, a law student who makes his primary living as a rounder- a master poker player who makes the rounds from club to club making the big bucks. After losing it all to Teddy KGB, a ruthless Russian with mob ties played by John Malkovich, Mike gets out and vows to never return. Nine months later however, he finds himself drawn back when his childhood friend "Worm" (Edward Norton) gets released from prison and has to scramble to pay off a massive debt he accumulated prior to his incarceration. Despite his vow the urging of his girlfriend and fellow law student Jo (Gretchen Mol), and his better judgment, Mike buckles up and set out to do the only thing he's really good at, despite the risk. This film has garnered a reputation for being a sleeper hit, or at least a growing cult classic, and that's totally fine. Since Texas Hold 'Em has gotten so big since this film came out, that's probably a reason for why this one hasn't totally fallen by the wayside. It is a decent film with a good story, and, despite some contrivances and cliches here and there, the film is pretty grounded and realistic in its representation of the world of high stakes underground poker. Besides the names I've mentioned already, the cast also includes John Turturro, Famke Janssen, and Martin Landau. It really amazes me how they managed to pull together such an awesome cast. And thankfully, all of their combined talents are totally wasted, and they generally give some credible and solid performances. The film moves along at a decent pace, there's good atmosphere, and, like I said, the story's fairly decent. All in all, this might not be the greatest movie, but it's entertaining, well acted, and, despite being rather superficial, is still passable and worthy of a watch.

• Jeff "

  
  Brilliant film about the underworld of high stakes poker. Director's John Dahl's effective direction is what keeps you interested and the tone of the film that of a film noir, which adds so much to the film's atmosphere. The cast are wonderful in their parts, and the… More
  Brilliant film about the underworld of high stakes poker. Director's John Dahl's effective direction is what keeps you interested and the tone of the film that of a film noir, which adds so much to the film's atmosphere. The cast are wonderful in their parts, and the plot is very engaging, thrilling from start to finish. Edward Norton and Matt Damon are terrific here, and they both have intense on-screen chemistry. Rounders is a must see for poker fans, and with a well crafted script, great acting and a memorable cast of talented actor that star alongside Norton and Damon, this is an accomplished film that will leave you wanting to see it again and again. If you enjoy a thrilling story with effective direction and a great cast, this film is for you. Rounders reminded me of the Mars Callahan film Pool hall Junkies, but this was a much better acted film with a more developed plot. Enjoyable if you're a fan of poker and to the common film goers looking for a terrific flick that is sure to electrify the viewer. Well crafted from beginning to end, Rounders is a wild ride and even if it lacks in some areas, there's enough good elements at work on-screen that make the film overcome its flaws and with an effective pacing set by director John Dahl, this is a well executed hustler flick that is very cool to watch. With a great script and wonderful acting, Rounders is a film that you won't soon forget. Thrilling from the first frame onwards, Dahl's film delivers, and is never dull and highly entertaining. It<s no wonder that this film is so popular with poker players everywhere. If you enjoy these types of films, definitely give it a shot, you won't be disappointed.

• Albert K

  
  can't help but to enjoy this movie. I absolutely loved john malkovich's role in the movie. plus, this movie didn't have ridiculous monster hands like the ones in casino royale. nothing more but just an enjoyable movie. I highly recommend it

• Melvin W

  
  Mike McDermott: It's immoral to let a sucker keep his money.  "In The Game Of Life... Play The Hands You're Dealt." Too be completely honest there was really no way I was not going to like this. Matt Damon and two of my favorite actors, Edward Norton and John… More
  Mike McDermott: It's immoral to let a sucker keep his money.  "In The Game Of Life... Play The Hands You're Dealt." Too be completely honest there was really no way I was not going to like this. Matt Damon and two of my favorite actors, Edward Norton and John Malkovich in a Poker movie. That's pretty cool and the movie turns out to be just as cool as I thought it would. It probably helps if you're a fan and player of poker. I enjoyed the film because I knew what the acts were saying, but if I didn't understand the logic of the games I probably would have had a hard time liking it. So keep that in mind if you aren't in the know when it comes to poker. Matt Damon plays a straight playing and very talented poker player. He can tell what you have as soon as you look at your cards. Edward Norton plays a schemer who always finds himself in trouble. Then you got John Turturro who plays a Grinder. He wins just enough to get by and never takes too big a risk. Malkovich plays a big shot Russian who owns his own club. Gretchen Mol is very good and easy on the eyes as the girlfriend Mike. The story is engaging and it's incredibly fun to watch Norton and Damon onscreen together. The poker scenes are surprisingly entertaining. After the first part of the movie, it's pretty obvious what is going to happen though. We know who Damon is going to be in the last showdown with. But it all still works effectively because Damon gives an amazing performance. The movie easily could have been dull and boring, and might be to people who don't know anything about poker. But for those who do, the movie is extremely watchable and easy to like.

• Shawn E

  
  A shallow film with some good characters but leaves nothing memorable.

• danny d

  
  a unique plot, an excellent script, and picture perfect performances make this an excellent and underrated film. fits in nicely with films like 'the hustler' in a semi sports sub genre.

• familiar s

  
  After losing almost everything, Mike (Matt Damon) decides never to gamble again and leads a satisfied life with his girlfriend until he is re-united with his childhood mate Worm (Edward Norton) after his release from prison. Mike feels slightly obliged to Worm since he prefers… More
  After losing almost everything, Mike (Matt Damon) decides never to gamble again and leads a satisfied life with his girlfriend until he is re-united with his childhood mate Worm (Edward Norton) after his release from prison. Mike feels slightly obliged to Worm since he prefers imprisonment to rating out Mike's name. Being attracted back to gambling, Mike ultimately ends up losing his girlfriend whom he'd promised not to gamble again. Besides, he couldn't pursue his career in law adequately. The two friends get together and are out to sweep the town so as to repay a debt, but things don't go exactly as they'd planned. I was surprised when I came to know that they're making a sequel to this. This movie itself was hardly interesting. The screenplay sucked and Edward Norton's character was not properly developed. Hope they won't repeat the same mistakes in the sequel.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"We can't run from who we are. Our destiny chooses us."</i> A young man (Damon) is a reformed gambler who must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"We can't run from who we are. Our destiny chooses us."</i> A young man (Damon) is a reformed gambler who must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Mike McDermott is a crackerjack gambler who has reformed his ways, and finally broken his lifelong gambling addiction. He's a promising law student who's destined to do great things, but it doesn't last when an old friend and gambling addict of his (Norton) is released from prison, only to resume his reckless ways and draw him back into the high stakes. Smart, intriguing story with hip dialogue and colorful characters played to perfection by an excellent cast. The target audience is obviously those who love to gamble, but there's enough twists and surprises to satisfy a few others as well. Malkovich makes the most of his interesting supporting role as a slick Russian gangster.

• Mark W

  
  Director John Dahl done a couple of great modern noir films in the 90's that shamefully went unrecognised (Red Rock West & The Last Seduction) but finally he got some attention with this film, thanks to a fine cast. Mike (Matt Damon) is a law student who happens to be more… More
  Director John Dahl done a couple of great modern noir films in the 90's that shamefully went unrecognised (Red Rock West & The Last Seduction) but finally he got some attention with this film, thanks to a fine cast. Mike (Matt Damon) is a law student who happens to be more interested in playing poker. He has the skills but stupidly lost all his money to Russian gangster "Teddy KGB" (John Malkovich) and is now on the straight and narrow and has promised his girlfriend that he's finished with that life. That is until his long time friend and poker partner "Worm" (Edward Norton) is released from prison. "Worm" owes money all over town and the ever loyal Mike is drawn back into the game and back into the life he doesn't need or want. The story is formulaic and has been covered many times before but what really makes the film worthwhile are some great performances. Damon is reliable as always with nice supporting roles for John Turturro and Martin Landau. However, the film does tend to sag a little but really kicks back into gear whenever Edward Norton appears onscreen. He is absolutely superb as the aptly named "Worm", a detestable slimeball of a character, who causes more hassle than he's worth. Worth seeing for Norton's performance alone.

• Anthony L

  
  A bit over rated this film. It was ok but nothing special. Everyone did well apart from Malkovich who stank to high heaven, he should wipe it off his CV!

• Daniel P

  
  This was very disappointing. Matt Damon was flat, and though Ed Norton was good, he couldn't save it. Complete waste of talent: John Turturro and John Malkovich also fell victim to this awful script. The main question is this: does the main character have a gambling addiction, or… More
  This was very disappointing. Matt Damon was flat, and though Ed Norton was good, he couldn't save it. Complete waste of talent: John Turturro and John Malkovich also fell victim to this awful script. The main question is this: does the main character have a gambling addiction, or is this a game of skill at which he's talented? Unfortunately, not even the writer seems to care.

• Lady D

  
  I was slightly disappointed at this film, given that it was a good cast, particularly as Ed Norton was part of that cast. There was really no excitement throughout, when you compare it to such films as Lock, Stock.. which had relatively short couple of scenes playing poker, it was… More
  I was slightly disappointed at this film, given that it was a good cast, particularly as Ed Norton was part of that cast. There was really no excitement throughout, when you compare it to such films as Lock, Stock.. which had relatively short couple of scenes playing poker, it was transformed to a viewer in a way that made you feel the emotions of the roller coaster ride the characters were taking and yet this film never managed to get anywhere near that. I was certainly expecting a little more razzle dazzle.

• Dan S

  
  A pretty fun and solid movie. Damon and Norton complement each other perfectly and the movie manages to be interesting despite dealing with a rather unexciting sport.

• Tsubaki S

  
  Not bad at all, Norton should get more roles like this one.

• Megan S

  
  pretty boring

• Curtis L

  
  What a snoozer. Got about half way through and wanted to die. So the movie died instead.

• Luke B

  
  Dull, boring, sub-par acting from what should be a world class cast. I was begging this film to end but it just kept on going. I can only hope that I never have to see this one again.

• Mike S

  
  A must-see for poker-lovers :-)

• Aaron N

  
  Teddy KGB: It hurts doesn't it? Your hopes dashed, your dreams down the toilet. And your fate is sitting right besides you. If your a fan of Poker, Ed Norton, Matt Damon, Poolhall Junkies, or small supporting roles from John Turturro, you'll probably like this movie.… More
  Teddy KGB: It hurts doesn't it? Your hopes dashed, your dreams down the toilet. And your fate is sitting right besides you. If your a fan of Poker, Ed Norton, Matt Damon, Poolhall Junkies, or small supporting roles from John Turturro, you'll probably like this movie. Nothing particularly special about this movie, but it's fun, and has a lot of good actors in it. Worm: She's really got him by the balls. Petra: That's not so bad, is it? Worm: It depends on the grip!

• Jason S

  
  A poker movie. It's pretty good but a little silly at times.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings