Wild Card
When a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal skills and a gambling problem gets in trouble with the mob, he has one last play… and it's all or nothing.
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- Cast:
- Jason Statham , Michael Angarano , Dominik Garcia , Milo Ventimiglia , Hope Davis , Max Casella , Stanley Tucci
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Reviews
Absolutely Fantastic
It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Slow, boring, bad music. Just don't bother with this one.
As a work of "cinema," Wild Card is nothing special. There is unusual depth to Jason Statham's character and Stanley Tucci plays one of the nicest, kindest, and therefore most frightening mobsters ever. But there's no great drama or great emotional impact.As an "action thriller" it is better than most, but the fight scenes don't measure up to "Transporter 1".Fine, mindless entertainment but it lacks the non-stop action of some of Mr. Statham's other films.
"Nick Wild" (Jason Statham) is a bodyguard who lives and works in Las Vegas because he is essentially down on his luck and doesn't have the money to start life anew. At least he doesn't think so. Then one night when a female friend named "Holly" (Dominik García-Lorido) is brutally raped and beaten he decides to help her get revenge--even though he knows it is going cause him big trouble once everything is said and done. Even worse, this particular problem also spills over onto an innocent client by the name of "Cyrus Kinnick" (Michael Angarano) who has hired Nick in order to avoid trouble. Now, rather than reveal any more I will just say that I happened to like this film because it had a decent plot, nice action and a couple of likable characters who happen to be mired in a dismal situation and are struggling with their own insecurities and inner demons. At least, that is how it seemed to me. In any case, I thought this was an enjoyable film and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.
Before going further, do yourself a favour and don't watch the trailer, they give away too much! Instead watch without even reading the summary and the surprises might make the movie more enjoyable.When checking out a Jason Statham movie the first thing I want to know is, does it show off his great fighting skills? And the answer is yes - but, there's a long wait and it's very scarce.This is a different Statham here, he does put on a different character, so some points for his acting. But the story just seems to lose focus after a reasonably good start and therefore lacks the intensity to keep the interest. They have some good elements but then throw it away and you end up wondering what's the movie all about. It seemed like a failed attempt at a drama or thriller.The (very) few action scenes are what saved it from being less than five stars. Homefront and The Equalizer are examples of films that didn't have that much action, but were good thrillers that kept me entertained in-between. This one took a bit of effort to finish. But if you're a JS fan like me, give it a try, who knows, you might end liking it a bit more than me, just don't expect much!