Latest Statham vehicle well worth a test drive, says Debbie Lynn Elias
Anyone who knows me or who has read any of my reviews or interviews over the past few decades knows of my admiration and affection for action films, stunt work, Jason Statham and his fellow Brit, director Simon West. Put all of those ingredients together, and toss in a screenplay by William Goldman, and I’m in. Needless to say, you can imagine my excitement for Wild Card as it not only blends all of these elements in this slick, as-to-be-expected reflective and brooding crime drama, but minimizes the action allows us to focus on character and the introspective nature of Statham’s Nick Wild.
Adapted by Goldman from his novel of the same name, Wild Card is not the typical Jason Statham-Simon West action movie (now their fourth teaming). While there are still more than sufficient displays of Statham’s patented martial arts stylings to satisfy the most die-hard fan, not to mention some slick maneuvers with credit cards and teaspoons, West, Goldman and Statham allow us to sit back and enjoy the psychological gamesmanship of Nick Wild and a wacky cast of characters who represent every patented Las Vegas element imagined centered around a Mafioso-hinged plotline. In short, I’m wild about Wild Card.
Nick Wild, a for-hire security/bodyguard, dreams of hitting a $500K score at the blackjack tables so he can live out his life in peace on a boat in the calm waters off Corsica. But that’s what makes Vegas, Vegas. It’s all about dreams, dreams that one keeps chasing, and Nick has been chasing his for years. Always there for a friend in need, whether they can pay for his services or not, you get the sense that Nick will never hit paydirt and Corsica will always be just a dream.
When Nick gets a call for help from old girlfriend Holly who has been viciously beaten and dumped at an emergency room door, Nick hunts down the culprit, who is sequestered away at the Golden Nugget. Danny DeMarco is a vicious thug who is more into looking the part than playing smart, which makes him and his boys an easy target for Nick who just wants to “warn” DeMarco, but as we quickly see, a vengeful Holly has a more personal payback in mind.
Enter the young Cyrus Kinnick. A wimpy looking whiz kid from Boston seemingly on his own for the first time in his life, Cyrus believes he requires Nick’s services as a bodyguard during his brief stay in Vegas. But it quickly becomes evident that not only is Cyrus not what he seems, but who’s doing the protecting?
As Nick Wild, Jason Statham is perfection. Quiet, brooding, introspective but with a wild streak, yet, no one can build tension with silence, stillness and just a stare like Statham. And he does just that in Wild Card making one extended gambling scene more riveting than all the action of three key scenes put together.
An interesting performance comes courtesy of Michael Angarano as Cyrus. Over the years we seen Angarano be timid or over confident, but as Cyrus he delivers a Nervous Nelly performance complete with lovely little nuances with his posture, his walk, his hands. It’s the engaging play and chemistry between he and Statham that has you doubling down with interest.
There are nice cameo turns by Jason Alexander and Anne Heche as Pinky and Roxy, respectively and Sofia Vergara as the appropriately named DD. And I’ve gotta hand it to Goldman and West adding some great tongue-in-cheek double entendres to not only Statham’s dialogue but a Pepsi placement nod with its spokesperson Vergara.
While set in present day, scribe William Goldman peppers Wild Card with the requisite stereotypical Vegas-mob elements we have so loved for decades while tailoring specifics to Statham’s brand of performance. It’s a lovely meld of old and new. The poignancy and raw visceral nature of the story and the characters, particularly that of Nick Wild, can resonate with each off us with just the slightest look at our own lives. Characters are fun, and thanks to some great story structure and dialogue in tandem with West’s direction, we only need one scene with some of these characters to know who they are and why they are in Nick’s life. I would have liked to see the character of Cyrus fleshed out a bit more as he proves quite interesting in the hands of Angarano, yet given the “ships that pass in the night” idea of Vegas, the minimal depth works. Multi-textural and layered and as with all of Goldman’s works, deeper and more engaging than what’s on the surface.
Wild Card. Starring Jason Statham, Michael Angarano, Stanley Tucci, Milo Ventimiglia, Anne Heche, Hope Davis, Jason Alexander and Sofia Vergara
Director: Simon West
Written by William Goldman based on his novel “Heat”
Run time: 92 mins. Rated: R
For interviews, more reviews and a deeper look at these films and more, go to www.moviesharkdeblore.com. And now, every Monday at 11am PT, you can catch debbie on adrenalineradio.com with her radio show and podcast, BEHIND THE LENS, where she takes you behind the lens and below the lines with live interviews and analysis with some of the hottest movers and shakers and up and comers in the industry today.
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