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Wild Card

Statham fan-pleasing, forgettable pseudo-noir

This is William Goldman’s second film adaptation of his novel, Heat. (After the 1986 clunker starring Burt Reynolds, and not to be confused with the much better 1995 Pacino/De Niro flick.) This time, Jason Statham does the lead honors as a hardened Las Vegas bodyguard (Jason don’t do soft) with a gambling problem, who gets in trouble with the mob and bets all or nothing for his freedom.

Also on board are Stanley Tucci, Sofia Vergara and Anne Heche. The director is Simon West. Some well-choreographed, samurai-style, one-against-many fights for Statham fans. Otherwise, a fairly forgettable pseudo-noir. (92 min)