There’s something quite exciting about a gambling movie. Maybe it’s the bright lights of Vegas. The glamour of winning a big pot. Or the thrills of the twists and turns which will inevitably ensue.
It’s why Ocean’s Eleven is so good. And Rounders for that matter. But whilst they are perhaps a Royal Flush to use a poker analogy, when it comes to Wild Card, the latest movie which sends us on a trip to Sin City, we aren’t even talking an Ace high.
In fact it may as well fold before it even gets to the Lionsgate logo.
Released on March 20 it tells the story of Nick Wild, played by Jason Statham, a recovering gambling addict, who takes a job showing millionaire Cyrus Kinnick around Vegas and providing protection when he gambles.
Following a conversation with a waitress, who reveals Holly, an ex-girlfriend, has been raped by gangster Danny DeMarco, and what follows is a plot riddled with clichés and typical Stathamesque beatdowns.
It’s Statham playing the only character he knows – Statham.
Certainly one for his fans – and they do exist – it involves the Expendable using all manner of weapons to gain revenge for the woman he is no longer dating, using a credit card, a tablespoon (yes really!), and a pair of garden sheers.
At the US box office it clawed back $1.6million of its $30million budget, and was handed a rating of 28% on Rotten Tomatoes.
And it’s really not surprising. It’s predictable to the core, and if you’re after something a little more reminiscent of Vegas you may as well stay in, fire up your laptop and either load up Euro Palace Euro casino and play a few hands or just look at it on Google Street View.
Of course don’t play blackjack like Nick. You don’t even need to see the film to guess through its lazy, generic plotline that he gambles all his money on a few hands, and inevitably loses all his money before of course trying to earn it back.
We think you’ve probably already guessed what happens in the end?
Directed by Simon West, the mastermind behind The Expendables 2, it does have a few slick pieces of camera work, but on the whole isn’t worth the 92 long minutes of your time.
It’s a remake of the film Heat, which also received terrible reviews. Go figure…