Review of 13 (2010) by Jared E — 24 Dec 2011

Yet another needless remake produced by the Hollywood system, 13 is based on the 2005 French film called 13 Tzameti and is of course an inferior film. This is not to say it's a bad one because it isn't but do we really need a remake of every foreign language film that happens to gain some popularity.

The plot is essentially the same as the original film; a young naive man with money troubles overhears his employer speaking about a letter he has received and the chance to gain some money. When is employer dies, the young man takes the letter and follows the instructions himself only to find himself involved in a clandestine game where rich men bet on the lives of other men who are involved in a large game of Russian roulette. With no option but to play, our young man is given the number 13 and must hope to escape with his life and a lot of money.

First of all the cast is excellent for a film that failed to gain much of a cinema release; Jason Statham, Ray Winstone, Mickey Rourke, Michael Shannon, Sam Riley and 50 Cent all make an appearance so there are no problems in the acting stakes. The story opens well with a good sense of mystery as to exactly what this young man is getting himself into. The problems arrive when the game itself starts; it's just far too obvious what the game's outcome will be thus removing all tension and suspense from the Russian roulette scenes. These are the main scenes of the film but they just didn't work for me despite them being well shot and paced. The final twenty minutes of the film are quite good and wrap the story up well but in the end it's just an average remake of a superior French film.

Needless but slightly entertaining remake, 13 suffers from a predictable midsection but has good opening and closing acts. If the premise interests you then choose the French version of because this film is nothing more than a needless cash in.