"Matchstick Men" is a far more jovial, small-scale affair than director Ridley Scott's last three pictures, yet all the more entertaining. Another genial crime movie from screenwriter Ted Griffin (who, with his brother Nicholas, seems to be making a career in this kind of thing after "Ocean's Eleven"), it moves along at a snappy pace, propelled by Nicholas Cage's constant tics and squeaks as the 'con artist' hero Roy. Roy could easily just be an excuse for an actor to show off the obsessive-compulsiveness and lose the character, but Cage handles it well and makes for an endearing protaganist. Meanwhile Sam Rockwell, as his partner Frank, barely registers at all. What really lifts the film up is the utterly charming, sweet portrayal of Roy's daughter Angela by Alison Lohman. She makes a great pair with Cage, and in their hands the film becomes much more enjoyable and (dare I say it) meaningful. The final twist (which is pretty easy to see coming) almost devastates the entire film, but Scott, Cage and Lohman just manage to salvage it. Worth seeing for the central pair alone.
*** 1/2