The story is a good one, and one that should have sustained much more suspence than it did. Snake Eyes, enacts the events before, during, and after (in the same night) the shooting of the secretary of defense at the title bout for the Heavyweight Championship. The story begins following Rick Santoro (Nick Cage), a somewhat corrupt and rather flashy Atlanta cop whose dream is to someday become the mayor of his city, as he does his thing entering the arena (his thing being harassing women, busting drug dealers and taking their money, and trying to snag an autograph from Tyler, the current Champ.
He is the guest of his longtime friend Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise), who is a in charge of the security of the secretary of defense. After the secretary is shot, Dunne panics as he had left the minister to investigate a suspicious person. Santoro immediately handles the situation as he was standing right beside the secretary, and the woman he was arguing with, when he was killed. Santoro leads the investigation, beginning with the search for the woman, Carla, (Julia Costello). What he finds however is an even larger issue than a simple murder... a huge conspiracy involving secret military weaponry, the Champ taking a dive, and Santoro's best friend Dunne as the ringleader (along with the Arena's owner.. a situation which is never resolved).
Snake Eyes is intense and engaging until the revelation about Dunne. Once that cat is out of the bag, the film seems aimless and loses complete direction. It sags into a series of flashbacks, each one getting more muddled, until what really happened becomes confusing. But, at that point, what really happened isn't the issue anymore, as Santoro and Carla are both put in danger, and how they get out of it becomes the center of the final 20 minutes.
With what they're given, Cage, Sinise and Costello all do admirable jobs, but inconsistencies, unfinished storylines, and a lost focus really hinder the film. Brian DePalma is still in peak form regarding his visual direction. His style is uniquely his (except when borrowed by Tarantino), and it still shines as the highlight of this film.