Wild Card review: Jason Statham remakes a flop... but does it work?

Director: Simon West; Screenwriter: William Goldman; Starring: Jason Statham, Milo Ventimiglia, Stanley Tucci; Running time: 92 mins; Certificate: 15

Why does Hollywood only tend to remake films that were perfectly good in the first place? Surely it makes sense to take a rough diamond and give it a good polish? Wild Card shows you should be careful for what you wish for. This remake of 1986 Burt Reynolds flop Heat, adapted by legendary screenwriter William Goldman from his own novel, is a stale and misguided mess.

Jason Statham heads ever closer to complete self-parody with his role as Nick Wild, a tough guy who lives off protection jobs in Las Vegas while struggling with a gambling addiction. He soon becomes embroiled in a vicious spat with Milo Ventimiglia's contrived villain Danny DeMarco, who possesses the same comedy goatee and menace as Albert Square icon Beppe Di Marco.

Wild Card is littered with brief supporting turns from an impressive array of actors such as Jason Alexander, Hope Davis, Anne Heche, Sofia Vergara and Stanley Tucci. Yet none make an impression beyond that initial flicker of recognition, as the dialogue consistently feels unnatural and forced. None of the characters feel remotely credible.

The same fate befalls poor Statham, who lurches between fight sequences and long, contemplative scenes in which Nick Wild offers his existential musings to whoever will listen. This juxtaposition feels very disconcerting, especially as the action is filmed in a nauseating slow-mo that depicts bullets leaving the cylinder and a nose being slowly crushed by a Statham headbutt. All bathed in a cacophony of thrashing music. It feels like being waterboarded after listening to Radio 3.

In all fairness, Wild Card clearly has aspirations beyond the beat-em-up genre. But it sorely lacks any connection between the characters and the viewer, failing to establish and relatable moments to rouse our interest.

As the excellent Hummingbird demonstrated, Jason Statham is capable of much more than being a rasping heavy who alternates between brooding and thumping. In all fairness, Wild Card clearly has aspirations beyond the beat-em-up genre. But it sorely lacks any connection between the characters and the viewer, failing to establish and relatable moments to rouse our interest.