I thought it was only suitable to review one Christmas movie at the end of 2016, and what a better idea than to choose a movie with action man Jason Statham in it… Jason Statham, I would assume, surely needs no real introduction. He’s a man who always has fun in his film and to his credit, completes his own stunt work. 

Nick Wild (Statham) is a Las Vegas bodyguard who is full of lethal skills (as Statham normally is!). To top it off, Nick also has a gambling problem which gets him in deep trouble with the mob. This is the story of Nick’s last night in Las Vegas…

Wild Card is very different to anything I have seen in a long time. If you’re expecting a non-stop action film you’re going to be disappointed. If I added up all the action sequences from this film it would be lucky to have the duration of 5 mins (and that’s at the maximum). With many of the fights scenes, I just found myself starting to get into them, only to find they would suddenly stop after a short period. The plot and storytelling process is also a complete mess…

Director Simon West (best known for directing Con Air and Tomb Raider) hasn’t had much luck with hit films since 2001. Simon West continues to tell dramatic stories with a slice of the action, but the pacing in the storytelling lately has been a complete mess. So much so that as a viewer I found myself frustrated with each scene to the point where I felt the director was somewhat lost in where to go next. 

Wild Card starts off as a revenge story and then totally flips into a whole new film within a matter of seconds. Nick’s character also changes his tone, going back and forth. At many times I found Nick to be a two different people throughout the film. The supporting cast for this film included Stanley Tucci, Sofia Vergara, Jason Alexander & Anne Heche, who were all lucky to have at least 3 mins of screen time and their name is on the film’s poster. Other than our main lead, all leading actors felt like a last-minute arrangement and were simply not used to their full potential, in particular Stanley Tucci.

Wild Card is a complete disappointment of poor storytelling and lack of action despite what the film’s marketing would imply. I have always been a fan of Jason Statham who provides great fun on screen, but I found this to be the worst film of his I have ever seen.   

3.8/10   

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Review Written by Peter Walkden