Review of Gambit (2012) by Panta O — 14 Mar 2013

This remake of a movie with the same name from 1966 with Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine didn't show anything new and exciting! This version is directed by Michael Hoffman, and starring Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz, Alan Rickman and Stanley Tucci. From the script by Joel and Ethan Coen to the acting - everything is somehow average and bland. I wouldn't say it is a bad movie - simply has no 'taste' you can remember after leaving the cinema!

I thought that the story of the British art curator Harry Deane would interest me, especially when he decides to seek revenge on his abusive boss Lord Shabandar by conning him into buying a fake Monet ("Haystacks at Dusk")... somehow during the watching that interest evaporated. Even the unpredictable Texas rodeo queen, PJ Puznowski couldn't bring it back.

This movie had its problems since beginning, and seems every single thing left a trace. Uninspiring Firth keeps his performance grounded in downbeat realism, Diaz never convinces anyone that she is a sassy trailer-park princess, and Rickman's villain has cartoon(ish) characteristics which are simply nothing plausible. If you have nothing better to do, like me, sit down and watch this with your wife...