Rounders

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Rounders

R

Released Sep 8, 1998

2h 30m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

81 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Mike McDermott loses his money in a poker game against Russian gangster Teddy "KGB". Under pressure from his girlfriend, Jo, he promises to quit gambling. This lasts until his friend, Lester "Worm" Murphy, gets out of prison and needs to pay off an old debt. The pair come close to earning the money back but are caught cheating. Then Mike finds out the debt is owed to Teddy and makes one last-ditch effort to beat the Russian.

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Critics Consensus

Richly atmospheric and colorful performances contributed to the movie's entertainment value.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

The most vivid and most enjoyable movies immerse us in a world, and show us how that world works. The screenplay by David Levien and Brian Koppelman does that; Dahl's direction closes the deal.

Jun 19, 2016

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

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Rita Kempley

Washington Post

The wholesome pup's poker face alone, however, hardly accounts for the film's failure to thrill. Damon's character doesn't really have that much stake in the story's outcome.

Mar 25, 2008

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

This is tired, tired stuff.

Rated: C-

Sep 2, 2022

Full Review

Mark Jackson

Epoch Times

"Rounders" is basically "Good Will Hunting 2." I'll go so far as to say that it's even more entertaining. I've seen "Good Will Hunting" twice. I've seen "Rounders" at least nine times.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 31, 2021

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

If you are a fan of poker, you will likely love this film's portrayal of the poker world.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 21, 2020

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Audience Member

Good acting from Damon and Norton. LOUSY script. It’s like the writers got their hands on a slang dictionary of gambling terms and made it their mission to work ALL the jargon in.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/04/25

Full Review

Chief B

Great poker crime movie. It gets you fully emerced in the world of poker and the different layers of the poker world. Great acting, great atmosphere plus the movie looks good too. And the poker endgame is unforgettable.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/27/25

Full Review

Kyle G

Pretty forgettable. John Malkovich was fun to watch, but Edward Norton and Matt Damon didn't leave me with lasting memories.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/20/25

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F R

Good movie, watchable, Malkovich great!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/09/25

Full Review

Will G

A great Casino film. They play poker and black Jack in this movie. Matt Damon and Edward Norton are great actors. Another gambling film I like is “Hard Eight”. They show New York.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Ending wasn't very strong, and the plot wasn't super intriguing. The actors were phenomenal with the script they had and KGB has some all time quotes but other than that a rather forgettable movie

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/02/24

Full Review

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John Dahl

Director

Matt Damon

Mike McDermott

Edward Norton

Lester 'Worm' Murphy

John Turturro

Joey Knish

Gretchen Mol

Jo

Famke Janssen

Petra

54

15%

29%

54

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Synopsis

Mike McDermott loses his money in a poker game against Russian gangster Teddy "KGB". Under pressure from his girlfriend, Jo, he promises to quit gambling. This lasts until his friend, Lester "Worm" Murphy, gets out of prison and needs to pay off an old debt. The pair come close to earning the money back but are caught cheating. Then Mike finds out the debt is owed to Teddy and makes one last-ditch effort to beat the Russian.

Director: John Dahl
Producer: Joel Stillerman, Ted Demme
Screenwriter: David Levien, Brian Koppelman
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Miramax Films, Spanky Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 8, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 21, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.9M
Runtime: 2h 30m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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