STARRING: Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron, Gary Sinise, Dennis Farina and Clarence Williams III

"Reindeer Games" is a great title for a movie. It's so much cooler than the generic names for most thrillers these days. Hackneyed stuff like "Point of Impact" and "Circumstantial Evidence." A name like "Reindeer Games" implies a certain sense of fun and attaching it to a thriller makes you expect an offbeat sense of humor with your car chases. You envision a Yuletide adventure. Something unique and unexpected.

Well, one out of three ain't bad.

"Reindeer Games" is a lukewarm, by-the-numbers thriller starring Ben Affleck ("Boiler Room") and directed by veteran John Frankenheimer ("The Manchurian Candidate" and "Ronin"). This movie benefits from some fun plot twists and a colorful cast, but Frankenheimer's workmanlike direction robs it of any distinct personality. The presence of twentysomethings Affleck, Charlize Theron ("Devil's Advocate") and Writer Ehren Kruger ("Arlington Road" and "Scream 3") should have made this movie a sly Gen-X caper. Maybe septuagenarian Frankenheimer just wasn't up to the task.

I don't want you to think I'm some kind of age-discriminating movie snob. An older director can certainly make a funny and fast-paced flick with a young, energetic cast. Look at Wes Craven and the first "Scream," for example. My problem with Frankenheimer isn't his age, but his decision to make this movie without any sense of style. We've got a story with chases in the snow, cat-and-mouse games in motel corridors and shoot-outs in casinos, but the director stays away from zooms, steadicam shots or any other device that could give these bits any visual oomph.

See what happens when you lie, kids? Sleazy men with googly eyes want you to rob casinos.

Kruger is definitely more comfortable with his own words. The dialogue flows much more smoothly than his work for "Scream 3." He also continues to cultivate a gift for surprises, which he exhibited in both "Scream 3" and "Arlington Road." Kruger's plot twists save this movie from being completely mediocre. Just when you think you've got the plot all figured out, he throws you a wild pitch. The script and the cast are the only things producing any sparks in this flick.

Affleck plays Rudy Duncan, car thief just days away from parole, whose cellmate dies in a prison riot. Upon release, Rudy assumes his friend's identity in order to score with his buddy's pen-pal girlfriend, played by Theron. Since the two lovebirds had never met, it's easy for him to pull off this charade. They plan to spend the upcoming holidays playing "hide the mistletoe," but his new girlfriend isn't the only one Rudy has duped. Her nasty brother played by Gary Sinise ("Forrest Gump"), wants his help with robbing a casino. It seems Rudy's dead pal used to work there and wrote his sweetheart about how easy it would be to take the joint down. See what happens when you lie, kids? Sleazy men with googly eyes want you to rob casinos.

The rest of the movie is about Rudy trying to escape Sinise and avoid participating in the robbery. Of course, we know that won't happen. If he gets away then we wouldn't get to see the big casino heist, which is the point to the whole movie. Even so, we still get several scenes where Affleck ineptly tries to convince Sinise that he's got the wrong guy. These moments are awkward and heavy-handed. Affleck is a likable actor who's at his best when playing a charming smart aleck. In "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma," his natural charisma and self-deprecating wit gets partnered with sharp, comic dialogue. "Reindeer Games" never fully takes advantage of Affleck's strengths and it's the poorer for it.

If Frankenheimer misses the boat with Affleck, he makes up for it with the casting of Sinise and Theron. Sinise is great as the ominous Gabriel, nicknamed "Monster." With his long, stringy hair, angular beard and mad scientist eyes, Sinise definitely looks the part of a bad ass. He plays this role with just the right touch of menace and humor. Gabriel is scary, but you can tell he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Theron starts out as the movie's token chick, but soon proves that she's more than just window dressing. Mixing equal parts innocence and sex appeal, she has fun with this role.

In a time when most movies are populated by doe-eyed waifs, Theron is a throwback to old-fashioned bombshells like Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth. She was the only reason to watch the lame "Two Days in the Valley" and was quite impressive as Keanu Reeves' bodacious wife (before she went crackers) in "Devil's Advocate." She, Ashley Judd and Catherine Zeta-Jones can hopefully restore glamour to the movies and save us from an unending onslaught of self-important dramas starring the likes of Winona Ryder or Calista Flockhart. P>

"Reindeer Games" is like that Christmas present that quickly finds its way to the bottom of the toy chest.

With the exception of Theron and Sinise, "Reindeer Games" underutilized a promising cast. Dennis Farina -- a fine character actor who was hilarious as the bumbling gangster in "Get Shorty" -- has little more than an extended cameo as the owner of the casino. Sinise's gang consists of Stomp Tokyo favorite Danny Trejo ("Con Air"), Donal Logue ("Blade") and Clarence Williams III (Linc from the original "Mod Squad"), but they're a pretty generic lot. Only Trejo, as a thug taking business courses in night school, gets to do anything beyond the typical henchman stuff. He has an amusing scene where he describes his plans for "Christmas II," a second gift-giving holiday to boost retail sales during the slow summer months.

"Reindeer Games" is like that Christmas present that quickly finds its way to the bottom of the toy chest. It's fun for a few hours, but you soon forget about it. Frankenheimer's matter-of-fact direction does little to help distinguish this movie from its cinematic peers. Affleck never gets to unleash the charm that's made him so winning in other roles, which translates into a rote performance. He's a good actor trapped in a bad role. It's a fate shared by most of the supporting cast, which are little more than glorified extras. Only Sinise and Theron generate sparks in this otherwise tepid thriller. If not for them and a few unexpected surprises, the cleverest thing about "Reindeer Games" would have been its title.

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