By Geno McGahee
Jason Statham, good script or bad script, tries to make the best of it every time. Although I’m not a huge fan of TRANSPORTER or CRANK, I have grown to appreciate what he’s done for the most part. Films like BLITZ, SAFE and the remake of THE MECHANIC were all really decent action dramas and Statham understands his role in film and how to make the best of it. WILDCARD was written by William Goldman and that right there is the reason to watch this film. Goldman has written such films as BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, THE STEPFORD WIVES and ABSOLUTE POWER. He can write and tell a story and he handled both the novel and screenplay concerning WILDCARD. Simon West directed WILDCARD and his credentials are fantastic as well. He directed CON AIR…one of the best action films of all time.
Nick Wild (Statham) is a former bodyguard with a gambling problem and a dream to leave Las Vegas and just go sailing. His plan has a half million dollar price tag in his estimation and he is attempting to save up for it, but his kindness tends to stop that from happening. At one point, he does a job for a friend where he pretends to be a jerk and allows his small wimpy friend to kick his ass to impress a girl, and only takes half of the money. An ex-girlfriend, Holly (Dominik Garcia-Lorido), contacts Nick and is beaten and traumatized. She tells the story of a mobster raping her severely and doing unthinkable things to her. She wants revenge on him and Nick is the perfect guy for the job.
Initially, Nick plans to just get information on their whereabouts, but the more he learns, the more he wants to see them pay for their deed. He finds the hotel room of mobster, Danny DeMarco (Milo Ventimiglia), and walks in and is met by naked dancing girls, big thugs, and DeMarco soaking in a hot but. DeMarco has no patience and immediately goes off on Nick. The thugs attack, but Nick is tough and knows how to fight. He beats up all three of the men, tying them all to chairs and allows Holly into the room to get some revenge. She cuts DeMarco’s junk and makes him whimper for his life, which isn’t surprising with a pair of hedge clippers stuck to his privates. It took me a while to figure out where I knew Ventimiglia and then it hit me. He was Rocky’s son in ROCKY BALBOA. This could be an unofficial sequel to ROCKY BALBOA I guess if Robert really went off the deep end when his dad lost to Mason Dixon. OK, maybe it wouldn’t be a good fit for a sequel.
After the mobsters are beaten, Nick and Holly leave and they leave with fifty thousand dollars that belonged to DeMarco. They split it down the middle. Holly leaves Vegas and Nick goes to the casino to build it and he does. By the end of the night, he has built it to half a million, but his addictive personality won’t allow him to quit while he was ahead. He gives it all back on one bet and realizes now that he is stuck in Vegas with some very angry mobster that want to kill him.
Cyrus (Michael Angarano) is a new friend of Nick’s and he’s very wealthy and wants to learn how to overcome his fears. The two have more in common than is immediately apparent. They both have things to overcome and as strong as Nick is physically, he is a beaten man and has character weaknesses. Cyrus proves that he is a strong character and the two sort of accept their shortcomings with hopes of improving. The friendship between Nick and Cyrus is a nice addition to this film. We get a final big showdown between Nick and the mobsters and some reflection and hope for the future for both Cyrus and Nick.
WILDCARD is a very good action/drama. The film brings out the best in Statham, using his physicality and likable nature very well. Ventimiglia was really good in this role, which shows his versatility as an actor. He was very likable in ROCKY BALBOA and here, he is about as unlikable as possible. Angarano also added a great deal to this film and was able to play the strong and weak character very well. This may not be the best work from William Goldman, but his lesser work is better than ninety percent of the stuff out there, and Simon West deserves credit for his work on this project.
I highly recommend WILDCARD. It was a very good action/drama in one of the greatest locations for action films, Las Vegas. Everyone involved took this film very seriously and gave a great effort. It’s definitely worth a watch.
Rating: 7.5/10