Wild Card Movie Review: Doesn't Pack A Punch...

British actor Jason Statham has teamed up with Simon West for admirable action flicks like The Expendables 2  and The Mechanic, which is why it is but obvious that one expects something along the same lines when the duo come together for Wild Card.

Based on the novel 'Heat' by William Goldman, Wild Card revolves around Nick Wild, a former Special Forces-types security consultant from Las Vegas, who is addicted to blackjack and dreams of escaping the sordid Sin City by saving enough money to live on a sailboat in Corsica.

When Nick's ex-lover Holly (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) tells him about being raped and abused by Danny DeMarco (Milo Ventimiglia), a Mob prince and his two bodyguards, Nick agrees, albeit reluctantly, to seek vengeance on her behalf.

However, that is not the only thing on Nick's plate. The tough guy has been hired by a yuppie business tycoon Cyrus Kinnick (Michael Angarano) to be his minder as he roams Vegas and also to teach him how to be tough and not scare easily.

If that was not all, Nick also has to overcome his compulsion to gamble and get out of Vegas before things get too hot. Will Nick manage to achieve his goals?

This reviewer has been a fan of Statham ever since he made his debut with Guy Ritchie's delightful British gangster-comedy Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and so, it is not tough to find his poker-faced humour palatable. The British bruiser is as impressive as always in his action sequences (Yours truly personally feels he would have made a great Jack Reacher). Another gem in the film is Stanley Tucci, who plays Baby, an old-school mobbed up Vegas casino owner, who acts as judge and jury when Nick's clash with DeMarco comes to his attention. The rest of the cast is dependable enough.

However, the same cannot be said for the film per se. If you are expecting action scenes in every second scene, you are bound to be sorely disappointed for though there are a couple of well-choreographed action sequences, they are too widely spaced apart. Moreover, the story is quite weak and there is too much of philosophy thrown around (We would rather prefer Statham break some bones, eh?) that would make any self-respecting Statham fan cringe.

All in all, if you are a fan of the action star, you might do well to give Wild Card a miss…