"Nick Wild" (Jason Statham) is a bodyguard who lives and works in Las Vegas because he is essentially down on his luck and doesn't have the money to start life anew. At least he doesn't think so. Then one night when a female friend named "Holly" (Dominik García-Lorido) is brutally raped and beaten he decides to help her get revenge--even though he knows it is going cause him big trouble once everything is said and done. Even worse, this particular problem also spills over onto an innocent client by the name of "Cyrus Kinnick" (Michael Angarano) who has hired Nick in order to avoid trouble. Now, rather than reveal any more I will just say that I happened to like this film because it had a decent plot, nice action and a couple of likable characters who happen to be mired in a dismal situation and are struggling with their own insecurities and inner demons. At least, that is how it seemed to me. In any case, I thought this was an enjoyable film and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.
Wild Card
2015
Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller
Plot summary
Nick Wild (Jason Statham) is a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal professional skills and a personal gambling problem. When a friend is beaten by a sadistic thug, Nick strikes back, only to find out the thug is the son of a powerful mob boss. Suddenly Nick is plunged into the criminal underworld, chased by enforcers and wanted by the mob. Having raised the stakes, Nick has one last play to change his fortunes...and this time, it's all or nothing.
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A Couple of Likable Characters Mired in a Dismal Situation
loved one scene
Nick Wild (Jason Statham) is a skilled bodyguard in Las Vegas. He's got personal ethics and a gambling problem. He's down $500k. His friend Holly is brutally abused by sadistic Danny DeMarco (Milo Ventimiglia),son of a gangster. He helps her get revenge on him. He wins over $500k at the casino. However, he can't help himself and loses it all again. Geeky self-made millionaire Cyrus Kinnick (Michael Angarano) wants him to mentor him but he refuses. DeMarco's men come looking for Nick.
The movie starts with something obvious that I can't buy Sofía Vergara would believe it. The scene with Holly in Danny DeMarco's room is brilliantly insane. I love it so much that I wish Nick goes off with Holly. It could have been a great road movie with them on the run from the mob. The rest of the movie isn't quite as interesting. Michael Angarano isn't that good as a sidekick. The action is quick-edits, slow-mo, bloody kung fu and Nick unwilling to use a gun. It's super fighting which Jason Statham has perfected over the years. I love that one scene but the rest is forgettable.
Loser
Jason Statham is a bodyguard and a loser. He works out of Los Vegas with a dream of putting together half a million dollars so he can go to Sardinia and bum around in a sailboat for five years. When he helps Dominik Garcia gain vengeance on Milo Ventimiglia, who had raped and disfigured her, she gives him $25,000, which he runs up into the half million. Can he keep the money and split? And what happens when Garcia calls in his mob connections?
Jason Statham is, in many ways, the successor to Burt Reynolds and he stars in the sort of movie that Reynolds would be starring in these days ... bearing in mind that nowadays these are a lot more brutal, and Statham glowers instead of grinning. He's got a tiny range; he was a street hustler when Guy Ritchie tapped him for LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, and his vehicles have depended on his physicality and movies carefully tailored to him. Fortunately, this was written by William Goldman, and features Stanley Tucci in a toupee.