Wild Card is a serviceable Jason Statham vehicle that often feels like it's spinning its wheels for the majority of its run time but in actuality the film is well past the halfway point when that becomes obvious. After that realisation there's just enough action here to keep it moving until its satisfying conclusion.
Yet again Jason Statham carries this. He's an actor who always sticks to the same wheelhouse and has admitted this. However, this character feels slightly different to most of his other roles as he's more self-destructive and that movie star charisma is replaced with a defeated nature. The physicality is intact though as the Stath fights half a dozen guys with only a fish knife and a spoon.
Stylistic choice or not, it was certainly a weird choice to have this film be so excessively grey. Other than that though, Simon West's direction is good with a real skill for making poker feel cinematic and with the assistance of Corey Yeun, the few action sequences here are strong enough to leave an impression.
Yet again Jason Statham carries this. He's an actor who always sticks to the same wheelhouse and has admitted this. However, this character feels slightly different to most of his other roles as he's more self-destructive and that movie star charisma is replaced with a defeated nature. The physicality is intact though as the Stath fights half a dozen guys with only a fish knife and a spoon.
Stylistic choice or not, it was certainly a weird choice to have this film be so excessively grey. Other than that though, Simon West's direction is good with a real skill for making poker feel cinematic and with the assistance of Corey Yeun, the few action sequences here are strong enough to leave an impression.