Card Sharks and Killer Credit Cards! Sofa Surfer Reviews Wild Card

Not wild enough...

The latest film starring Jason "Transporter" Statham is a remake of the 1986 film Heat (not the awesome Al Pacino-Robert DeNiro team up from 1995), which starred Burt Reynolds and was based on the William Goldman novel Heat. From how the previous film worked out, I cannot imagine why a remake was deemed necessary. Wild Card is not nearly wild enough. Apparently close to Statham's heart (a passion project), the film development was not a smooth path and it shows in the final product. Statham is always watchable, providing a stone-faced and physically adept presence to pretty much all the films he appears in. He does action quite well, moving with the determination and skill of a lifelong martial artist. Some would call him a bit one-dimensional, stuck in B-movie action purgatory, but I beg to differ, and I can see the potential he has as a serious actor. It has been on display before, briefly in Redemption (Hummingbird), for example. He also bears a swift comedic touch, as evidenced by his enjoyable approach to his Lee Christmas character in The Expendables and his early appearances in Guy Ritchie's fun caper movies (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch). The quiet moments spent with his gambling addict and private investigator (jack of all trades) character Nick Wild show promise as Statham mines uncommon dramatic territory, but his attempts to add weight to the narrative fall flat as the script and direction from action veteran Simon West do him no favors. Sadly, if he keeps choosing films like this with vapid scripts, he will deserve his place in the DVD bargain bin. He can't save this movie, and the barely seen Jason Alexander, Stanley Tucci, and other solid supporting cast members aren't given much to do. In fact, Alexander's and Tucci's roles amount to cameos!

Santa Statham fails to deliver good cheer in his latest film.

I wouldn't fault anyone for expecting Wild Card to be another boilerplate Statham action ride. I wish it was, in this case. At least there would be more action! However, the film is less concerned with action and more concerned with pointless plot filler. It feels at though the film went through editing hell, or perhaps the script never offered a concrete direction and involving thematic elements. Michael Angarano appears early on as a rich, insecure yuppie who seeks to find some gambling action and danger in Vegas, approaching Statham's Wild character to provide protection and guidance in the city due to his various "skills." Was Angarano meant to be the primary focus? Maybe, but just as quickly the film leaps to a horrifically beaten Holly, Wild's former flame as played by Andy Garcia's daughter Dominik Garcia-Lorido, seeking vengeance with Wild's aid on Milo Ventimiglia's cocky gangster and his thugs. She slips out of the narrative quite quickly as well, serving little purpose aside from setting up Statham's confrontation and final throw down. Ventimiglia (of Heroes fame) is all threats and slicked back hair. No substance (which pretty much describes the movie). Describing the narrative any further would pretty much summarize the entire movie, beat by beat. Suffice to say, Statham glowers and kicks ass on three occasions, with the two latter encounters being classic Statham. Seeing him use a butter knife for something other than for spreading is a treat, but there is not enough action to satisfy genre buffs. As for the technical aspects of the film, the camera work nor the soundtrack leave a positive lasting impression. They're bland filler as is the rest of the experience. What should be tense, high-stakes gambling situations end up being exercises in low-stakes boredom.

Statham's Handshake

The film in general won't be enough for anyone, save huge Statham fans who absolutely must see their brawny British badass losing a fortune in blackjack. The whole enterprise just feels undercooked  and heads nowhere (at least not anywhere interesting). It's frustrating to see Statham stuck in yet another disappointing flick, and the capable supporting cast is wasted. This sure ain't no Con Air 2, SIMON WEST! For shame!! The only saving graces of the film are the passably entertaining fight scenes in a casino and behind a diner. What Statham does with a credit card can only be described as insane. Wait to watch those clips on Youtube, and dodge this film like Statham dodging a Vegas bookie. Go watch The Transporter instead.

1.5 out of 4 Stars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fJGbTfFPkM