Wild Card: Extended Edition [DVD] [2015]

Slightly unusual story for Jason but very good as most of his films are, if you’re a fan I recommend it

Excellent just what I wanted 👍

Jason Statham is approaching fifty, bit of an old geezer for action flicks, but not really, age is just a number. Let's be honest, Statham is the only known name in this (Stan Tucci and the stunning Sofia Vergara are only there for the opening), for fighting, it would have been better if someone like Scott Adkins would have played DeMarco, or someone with Statham's equal ability... who he comes up against, seems a bit lame...There's not much of a wider plot either (the film is a re-make of 'Heat' from 1986 with Burt Reynolds), and the gambling aspect is never really talked about in much depth, only having enough money to be free etc - but then, he goes back and blows all his winnings... that what you'd expect really though. He gets angry and drunk, what you'd expect. What's missing from that section of the movie is a discussion about greed... Criminals are greedy - a real gambler knows when to quit... a gambling addict is neither professional gambler nor criminal - he's just a loser... so this movie doesn't really cover that either... in any depth... and that's the way the whole movie goes - nothing is covered in much depth... is it meant to be??.... revenge is the core subject matter, after one of Nick's numerous female friends gets a pasting off DeMarco...The bigger picture... Nick Wild (Statham) is muscle for hire, a British hard man with a gambling addiction... who obviously has debts to pay off, to a Mr Big.... so who's this Mr big - a much younger guy? then we have this other younger guy who hires him, a billionaire geek from Boston, who sees himself as a wuss and a total coward... and wants a slice of the action... he goes as far as creating a distraction for Wild in the final fight scene... and that's what's really wrong with this - the other characters are really weak willed, small time, and so unremarkable as not worth mentioning... there is some moralising, but not much...Statham does nothing wrong, essentially, but he's really wasted in this movie... Why pick this one? it was five years in the pipeline according to director West.... a bad choice to make it - when most of the other aspects of it were poor... this bombed at the box office I can see why that might happen.... but then it only had limited release...so what do distributors expect... to make it up just in DVD sales later? the running time was also a bit short.. there were no car chases, no running through the casino, no other action other than fight scene... which made it seem a bit slow...This movie has a mild redeeming quality that is worthy of three stars however... Statham is getting more mature as an actor, seeing him evolve movie by movie, is fascinating to watch... and he did nothing so bad in this movie... Simon West directed... the fight scenes were ok, done in slow motion, sometimes for effect, the music was average at best... it was mildly enjoyable in an overall sense of a Statham project... but it lacked real guts, real grit and real nastiness, the bits we saw were done almost in jest and unconvincing, maybe next time, he'll pick better support cast and something with a bit more substance... maybe instead of re-making this...Statham will do a re-make or another installment of Smokey and the Bandit instead... but then again he's a street fighter and a hard man, not a racing driver....

Any film with Jason Statham is good 👍.

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

I like Jason Statham films so no worries from mr

Jason Statham stars here as Nick Wild a sort of body guard celebrity in Las Vegas. He also has a gambling habit so really should have chosen to live somewhere without so many opportunities to lose all his money - but c'est la vie.Then one of his female friends gets roughed up by a horrible little man and Wild is convinced to act for retribution. Problem is this nasty piece of work is the son of a mob boss - and cue the violence.Now this is actually a really tight script and is adapted from the book `Heat' by William Goldman who also did the screenplay. It can be seen as a basic revenge plot - but there is also enough on the periphery to keep it moving along. We have Michael Angarano as a rich kid who wants help and a host of supporting actors who are all on top form. This is an action film with a heart, some twists, a lot of style and a ton of action -so an easy one to recommend to fans of the genre.

not sure why i havent heard of this film. Only party I was left unsold was the almost cashing in the chips. literally thought he had been poisoned. great film.