Review of Wild Card (2015) by Quincytheodore — 31 Jan 2015

Wild Card is a bizarre movie. It's practically Jason Statham chatting about random stuffs with some people and then brutally mauling other people until their lives are miserable. Strangely, despite the long investment on many characters, the plot never pays off in any satisfying way. Wild Card is one of the movies that leaves audience wondering what were they watching, but not in good Inception way. If this is a complicated plan to elevate Statham's acting, it doesn't work, it would've been more believable if this is documentary of Jason Statham's actual weekend.

The story is about Nick Wild (Jason Statham), a fixer of some sort who works in Las Vegas, as he goes about his days. Everyone, from diner waitress to blackjack dealer, inexplicably knows him as if he's an action movie star, and in some way or another they are affected by him. Many supporting actors such as Sofia Vergara and Stanley Tucci shows up out of nowhere, seemingly creating sub plots, but they actually don’t provide much. There's no big revelation or twist in Nick Wild's life, he fights, reluctantly yet effectively, and that's it.

With confusing script, it's hard to feel any sympathy for the characters. They would talk about near philosophical debate about life goal or simple frantic drunk rambling, and these conversations are not much different sometimes. The cinematography for the movie is flashy, albeit still in moderation, unlike some Statham's movies which are flat out implausible. However, it doesn't produce engaging crime story or human drama like Hummingbird either.

Nevertheless Jason Statham is the lead here, audience can't go home without seeing some poor sods getting hammered senselessly. In this regard Wild Card succeeds by delivering some truly painful and cringe worthy demolitions, and surprisingly beyond psychical agony. The choreography for these excruciating moments are splendid. I felt the anguish from beyond the screen, I know it's fake and entertaining, but I wish it upon no man.

Any action or Statham fans looking for deep plot, you might want to put your chips elsewhere. Wild Card mainly deals with absurd violence, and impressive length of bar talk.