Snake Eyes (1998) is one of the weakest films in the de Palma filmography, but I did have a lot of fun with it, mainly because I stand by the belief that Nicholas Cage is a talented actor who brings energy and intensity to his roles. Here he plays a detective who is investigating the murder of the Secretary of Defense during a crowded boxing match. Gary Sinise plays a naval intelligence officer with a few secrets of his own.
De Palma's cinematography is the bright spot in this film. In the beginning of the film there's a fifteen minute shot that follows Cage around the arena, talking with different characters with gusto (as Cage is apt to do). Another shot I really liked was when the camera was scanning the rooms in a hotel from a birds-eye point of view, showing the different types of people in each room.
The plot became a bit thick at points and overall the film could have benefited from a tighter narrative, but it was lots of fun seeing each character recount their story in different ways and seeing what really happened on fight night.
I hope DePalma can revisit this and do a recut. On the recent DePalma documentary there was a brief clip of the original ending.