Review of Poker Night (2014) by Quincytheodore — 31 May 2015

Compilation of detective stories in one torturous ordeal. Poker Night is not your ordinary thriller or cop movie. It takes a lot of liberty in telling its many subplots by tweaking the timeline as each detective delivers their respective story. With the lineup of actors the movie has, it presents suspense and occasional humor aptly. However, the constant whirl of flashbacks and abrupt pacing change might be exhausting to audience as it veers too many times throughout the movie.

Jeter (Beau Mirchoff) is invited to a poker night by his lieutenant. This ongoing tradition is a part of initiation for new detectives. Little did he know, his first case might just need all the wisdom from these veterans. The plot shifts back and forth as Jeter tries to outwit a psychopath as he remembers the stories from the poker night one step at a time. The risk grows increasingly high as Jeter gambles with not only his life, but also the life of a girl hostage.

This unorthodox set-up has the advantage of presenting many subplots, the tone from each can be adjusted for humor purpose as well. It even displays the antagonist's perspective in ironic fashion. The actors do well, they are an eclectic bunch, representing convincing grit accumulated from years of experience. Their tales are pretty interesting, with just the right amount of noir monologue and awareness.

Not all of them are balanced though, a couple of these might feel tedious. Furthermore, the sudden shift to accommodate all stories might unintentionally derail the momentum. It has excessive amount of flashback into another flashback, which can be a convoluted viewing. Its overall theme and major plot are solid enough, often dealing with sadistic and perverse nature without getting overly gory, so it does maintain a good level of consistency.

Poker Night is different kind of crime movie, the bizarre narrative doesn't completely pay off, but it plays its hand cleverly enough to create a decent thriller.