Review of Wild Card (2015) by Thequietgamer — 07 Jun 2015

Action movies have to do a lot nowadays in order to feel fresh. Simply attaching one of the genres big named stars like Statham to it no longer works. I give the movie props for trying. Rather than just focusing on all out action the movie spends a lot of time talking. The majority of it actually tries to be part character driven drama. However missing bits of backstory and some cheesy moments make the movie feel half-baked.

The dialog is actually pretty good most of the time outside of some cheesy lies and moments that pop up every once in a while. There are moments of humor in the film brought about by some of the films goofier characters that show it's no taking itself too seriously all of time. The plot isn't a revenge flick like all of the press lead us to believe. It's actually about Statham's character struggling to get out of Vegas. The revenge part just serves as a way to et him into trouble along the way.

It's the plot that brings the film down. It's not as well written as the dialog. For one the whole part where he seeks revenge for the rape of his friend lacks any sort of impact because we have no idea what these two characters relationship is like. Their past is never discussed. That's a big issue with the film as a whole. So much of this film relies on the character's past. Whenever someone with significance to the plot shows up from his past and talks about what he did for them we are let in the dark wondering why this new character is of any relevance. Mix that with how the movie jumps around from plotline to plotline and you are left with a movie that feels like it's lacking in focus. It's only right at the end that all these pieces finally come together. Even then some other smaller side plots are left without any sort of reason or conclusion.

It doesn't even get the characters self-destructive tendencies down. The character wants to leave Vegas but never takes the opportunity to do so. Part of this is due to his gambling addiction that is only barely touched upon. Whenever he wins enough to leave he can't stop gambling and loses it all. However that's only part of the problem. At several points in the movie we are given scenes where Statham's character has the opportunity to get at least some of the money he needs, but refuses to take it even though he usually did the job to get it. We are never let known why. It just seems nonsensical for the character to not take the money. There's not even a small bit of explanation for it either.

It's elements like these that make the story feel poor. That wouldn't have been so bad had the majority of the film had not been so focused on plot. Statham fans looking for a lot of action should look elsewhere. The scenes where he is kicking butt are few and spread out considerably. They still pack the brutal and fast punch Statham movies are known for, but there's not enough of it to satisfy the hardcore action junkies. At least we still have that dialog. I wouldn't call "Wild Card" a bad film. The conversations characters have do make it least mildly entertaining. However with not enough action or plot strength what we are left is just mediocre. Because of that it's not one I can recommend. The interesting and humorous bits don't make up for what is basically just a sub-par film.