Wild Card (Jason Statham)

Deleted User wrote: »

I was rather disappointed to learn that Wild Card wasn't being released here till the end of March but happened to be looking through Amzon's new VOD release and noticed that it had a same day release in the US. Rented it and have to say that I really enjoyed it, it's the perfect Friday night film, easy to watch, doesn't over stay it's welcome and features the best knifey spooney fight ever.



He rarely gets the acclaim he deserves but Jason Statham is one of the most magnetic, charismatic and likable action stars in cinema history. He has an easy charm that's impossible not to warm to and can elevate even the most generic of films and add a touch of class. The steely eyed intensity is reminiscent of McQueen or Newman and as such it's something of a shame that he has yet to find the vehicle to elevate him to such great heights.

Wild Card is a low key slice of old fashioned neo-noir with a side of cool. Based on the novel by William Goldman, who scripts it's the kind of unashamedly old school action thriller that never seems like it's in much of a hurry. It's a cool, breezy 90 or so minutes that allows Statham to flex his acting muscles a little and show that he's so much more than just a pair of fists.

The story here is somewhat old hat, it's another tale of a loser with a particular set of skills whose unable to tear himself away from everything that's wrong in his life. Statham's Nick Wild is the quintessential loser, he has just enough to get by and soon as he sees a little success he squanders it thanks to an inherent inability to get out while the game is good.

Eeking out a living as a punching bag for losers looking to show off or hookers looking to get even, he's a man with little to lose and it shows.
Into his wild and erratic world stumbles Cyrus Kinnick, a tech genius loser who just wants a little of Wild's cool to rub off on him. The initial meeting between the two is an absolute joy to behold with Statham having a hell of a lot of fun boasting about his ability to memorize the front page of the New York Times and other wild exaggerations.

The crisp dialogue is pure pulp and has that signature Goldman ring to it. It's clever, insightful and never showy.
The films most startling scene comes midway through where luck finally shines on Wild and he finds himself winning big at the blackjack tables. It's a wonderfully shot and thematically rich scene in which director Simon West utilises quick cuts of cars flipping over and in a nice directorial flourish West uses longer and longer takes as Wild finds himself unable to stop betting. It's a brilliantly staged scene and uses little dialogue but manages to say more than enough.

As this is a Statham film, there's more than enough action and these scenes are amongst the most proficient in quite some time. There's no messing around here, violence is sudden, unexpected and brief. There is no posturing or taunting, just bone crunching violence that's over almost as soon as it begins. The visceral extended punch outs between Statham and a number of others displays a wit and sense of fun that's been lacking in many recent action thrillers. Sure it's nasty as it comes but unlike the violence in The Equalizer or A Walk Among the Tombstones it's never drab, inhumane or unnecessarily graphic.

Wild Card is not a film ever likely to set the world on fire. It's a decidedly old fashioned action film that manages to tell a fun and full story in 90 minutes. There's no excess here, no delusions of grandeur, just a stripped down noir tale that Elmore Leonard, Ross Macdonald or Jim Thompson would be proud of.

Deleted User wrote: »

Funny but I just looked at his box office and all bar three or so of his films have turned a profit before hitting the home market. Are you mistaking the US take as total box office and as such writing films off as flops.