Wild Card

Wild Card is about the underbelly of Las Vegas. It stars Jason Statham as Nick Wild who is a bodyguard. His friend pays him to stage a fight so he can impress his girlfriend. He goes to a dinner where a man has a routine speech to seduce women. Then his ex-girlfriend gets raped and beaten and she asks him for help. That seems like it will be the main plot but it’s not. It’s actually about the duality of Wild’s character, the fact that deep down he’s good but he gets overwhelmed by his bad acts. The question is whether he can ever fix his personal traits.The writers did a good job fooling the audience. At first it seems like he’s just going to be an avenging angel but that’s not what the main plot is about. In fact, Nick is much more complicated than that and that’s what the story slowly but surely develops. He has a yin and yang side to him. His bad side though shows that he’s self-defeating because he will always do something to undermine himself.There are some great close combat action scenes as well that really stand out. This is the kind of character that Statham has established himself as so it should come as no surprise they’re in the film.Overall Wild Card was a completely unexpected story. It took you in one direction and then went in another. Very entertaining.C

A mix of drama (man combats and apparently conquers his gambling habit) with the kind of poetic justice fisticuffs one expects from a Jason Statham movie. Not his best, but not dreck, either.

I doubt I’d watch it again.

Jason Statham has got charisma so in a right setting it works. He's an athlete who can make ridiculous fights look really good. Wild Card is a blend of those things. Playing a guy who keeps his self down gives him a side making his character have a dimension very different from his physical and cocky regular persona. It's a little more interesting this way and you root for the guy as he makes poor choices which threaten his existence. Vegas is a natural place for all of this to collide and the stellar supporting cast surely helps. I wouldn't call it a fun action flick rather more of a edgy ride that uses the action for a dark journey. The character of Nick for all his flaws has a heart. This is good Jason Statham. He carries the water to make this better than it should be. Sure the action is over-the-top, but it works in the story and not simply to impress or wow. No one can do this quite in the same way it would seem. I won't say it's for everyone, more of a guy flick. But, it is better than so much of the action genre I say give a watch.

Awesome kick ass movie

No one will mistake it for great art, but it an entertaining, even sort of interesting addition to what I think is Jason Statham's portfolio for moving into movies that will require him mainly to act for a living. Based on this and a couple of others, I'd say he has a very good chance. Everybody likes the guy. Everybody knows you can't do what another reviewer I think called "a good solid Jason Statham" film forever. So, we're probably all rooting for him, and this movie, decent enough on its own, is kind of interesting for watching Jason trying to move on to The Next Thing. The movie is based on a book, which probably helps explain why the movements are pretty well thought out. I buy it a little more in retrospect than I did as I was wacthing it, so possibly they could have done a little better job building the characters, but it wasn't really that kind of film, so it's not really expected, hence no excuse to whine about it.I thought about looking at little details and commenting on them, because there are some that are nice, but that's not really merited. It's entertaining, a little bit not what you expect in "a Jason Statham" film, and that's in a good way, and, for once, I actually cared about the main character. It is not an "our thug is nicer than your thug" movie, which so many American films are. I wind up not caring about anybody in those, like for instance The Godfather. (Yes, I said it. I don't actually care about anyone in it, except maybe Pacino's character's wife.) It's actually a guy you could like with a problem you come to see he has to overcome, and with the luck to meet a Traveling Angel who offers him redemption. Not being a spoiler sort of a guy, I will say nothing about how that goes.One last thought: I'm enjoying the film a little more as I sit and think about it. That must be a good sign. Still not art, but a pretty good practice run for all involved in maybe making art sooner or later.

If you're looking for a good jaunt with a Jason Statham movie you've got one right here. It's worthy of 90 mins of your time, and of course you get the action sequences Statham is known for. There are 3 really good Statham against everyone scenes that are rewards in and of themselves for catching this flick.Like another reviewer stated, it starts out a little slow, and it looks at first like a movie in search of a direction. You're no quite sure which way the plot is headed, and it is a little disjointed as it searches for the story line. But it finally shows up and the director finds his way to the plot that you can follow and hang on to.The dialog is a little cheesy, and it's a bit muddled as it trudges along before the plot finally shows up. But when it does you get what you came for, and that is to see Statham doing what he does best....kicks some ass! And boy does he!There is a little sub-plot that could've been a little better developed , but it adds a little humor and makes the (male) audience put themselves in the guys shoes to hang with Jason through his ups and downs.Overall, this isn't a Steve McQueen Bullet movie, or the next blockbuster series type of movie, It's a typical Jason Statham movie that pays off what you came to see.It's definitely worth watching once. And if it came on TV down the road it'd be worth watching again. Would I buy it? Probably not unless it was on sale for under 10 bucks. But for passing the time instead of being bored it's a Jason Statham no brainier....just kick back and enjoy.

Absolutely cracking 'art-house action', if such a genre exists. If it doesn't then Jason Statham and William Goldman just invented it.If you're used to Statham's more typical non-stop fight flicks, then you may be disappointed by Wild Card's talky script and slow-burn pacing. It's an intelligent, thought-provoking character-led drama, which just happens to have three stunning fight sequences perfectly inserted into its storyline. The dialogue is so crisp and witty (and especially well delivered not just by Statham but also by Stanley Tucci in one of many stand-out cameos) that you won't want to miss a word. Statham's performance demonstrates a depth we rarely get to see from the guy... and then he delivers some of the best, bone-crunching action set pieces we've seen in years. He's completely credible as Nick Wild, a man so hard he'd not sully himself with using a gun a to kill an opponent, and the range of other actors - who add texture and background to Wild's deteriorating life story - is superb.Wild Card is let down a little by its odd pacing and strangely flat direction; in keeping with art movies but which results in a mono-tone rather than the gradual ramping of tension which the storyline deserves.And the opening 15 minute sequence will certainly put off some people who won't bother watching beyond that - so they'll miss the twist. Stick with it, even though you may be wondering what you've done during the initial bar-room scene... Also definitely aim to watch the extended version because this isn't a particularly long film and we enjoyed every minute. The half-hour of special features were better than average, too.An entertaining interpretation of the standard revenge storyline, made all the more interesting by some soul-searching into the nature of risk-taking and gambling addiction.8/10

Jason Statham films are fantastic, this one we were so looking forward to but got off to slow start and we were initially disappointed, BUT stay with the film, it is a great story and a lot of action, very pleased with this purchase.

Cracking little film this. As much a "Jason Statham film" as it isn't.For once there is actual acting and pithy dialogue, with Statham's character being far more three dimensional than his usual roles. Here is a relatively complicated anti-hero living with his own self destructive tendencies whilst striving to be the rock for those that need his help. I'm surprised that this wasn't given an 18 rating as the violence is brutally visceral at times, although beautifully choreographed and filmed. If you're a Statham fan, watch this. If you like a well told story with believable characters, watch this.

This was the most embarrassingly dreadful film - the script was awful and in the opening scenes Jason was acting so badly that he reminded all of us in the room of Del Boy (Only Fools and Horses). Then there is the scene where our hero is fighting someone behind a car and all we see is legs and arms popping up from behind. I can't believe that anyone would have watched it all the way through. We are Statham fans but this was so awful I had to check that it hadn't been made in the 70s and re-issued. Nul points.

Same old formulae from Statham and Hollywood which includes an incident at the beginning of the film, followed by martial arts fighting, gun fire, a car chase or two, an explosion and the happy ending using the contrived script that includes ''Heads up'' , ''I had your back''