5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
A recovering gambling addict finds work providing protection to his friends.
Starring: Jason Statham, Michael Angarano, Dominik García, Milo Ventimiglia, Hope DavisAction | 100% |
Thriller | 70% |
Crime | 51% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
It’s more than a little tempting to utilize the graphic that appears when this Blu-ray is first loading and simply call a spade a spade when it comes to this latest Jason Statham scowl-a-thon. It becomes at least a little more difficult to just casually dismiss Wild Card, though, when one has to come to terms with the fact it was written by William Goldman, one of the most iconic screenwriters of all time (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , All the President's Men, Marathon Man and The Princess Bride, to name only a few). Goldman, who has never been shy about offering his sometimes trenchant critiques of both the theater and film industries courtesy of his books The Season and Adventures in the Screen Trade, is obviously not a stupid man, and yet Wild Card, which is based on Goldman’s novel Heat (filmed previously, and eponymously, in 1986 as a Burt Reynolds outing), is resolutely dumb a lot of the time. The basic plot details Statham as a Las Vegas based bodyguard of sorts named Nick Wild. Wild becomes involved with both a young gambler who wants protection as he plies his trade on the vaunted Vegas Strip, as well as a young woman who has been brutally raped by a local gangster. The fact that Statham only gets to strut his action hero stuff in a couple of admittedly visceral fight scenes is just one problem the film struggles to overcome. When a film resorts to a cameo by the inimitable Sofia Vergara, one where she actually continues her shill work for Pepsi products, there’s probably more than enough evidence that even a screenwriter of Goldman’s inestimable talents is on something of a losing streak.
Wild Card is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Shot digitally with the Red Epic, this presentation struggles at times with both an overall dark demeanor as well as a slavish devotion to blue color grading. Both of these approaches tend to defeat fine detail in wide range and even some midrange shots, though to be fair, things pop surprisingly well in close-ups. Some of the extreme close-ups of elements like tufted playing cards or the green velvet of a craps title offer excellent to superb fine detail, and at times even dimly lit sequences that feature things like close-ups of Statham's face reveal elements like scars and crags quite convincingly. That said, this is a curiously bland offering from a palette perspective. There's very little here that pops in any meaningful way, with even Nick's frequent car trips through the "wonderland" of Vegas looking a bit desaturated and flat. Despite the film's penchant to exploit the blue side of things, and within an understanding of that context, colors look reasonably accurate. There are no issues with image instability and perhaps surprisingly given the film's generally dark ambience, no problems with noise.
Wild Card benefits from a nicely immersive and at times quite forcefully rendered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The few fight scenes offer well placed sound effects that include the requisite bone crunching noises, and the hustle and bustle of Vegas is nicely captured in scenes both outside and (especially) in the claustrophobic environs of the casinos Nick and Kinnick frequent. Dialogue is presented very cleanly, and is well prioritized above both the sometimes rather busy array of sound effects and Dario Marianelli's enjoyable score.
One might be tempted to point William Goldman toward George Santayana's famous quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Heat was certainly not one of Goldman's finer achievements, but unfortunately Wild Card isn't much, if any, of an improvement. Probably too talky for the typical Statham fan who may want nothing but nonstop action sequences, but similarly not smart enough to convince those without a Statham fixation, the film is ultimately the cinematic equivalent of a fold. Technical merits are generally very strong for those considering a purchase.
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