Wild Card

Wild Card - Dir. Simon West (2015)

There’s a set formula to nearly every Jason Statham action film. The British bruiser generally plays a stoic anti-hero with a rigid code of honor and woe to anyone who attempts to violate his rules. The Transporter, The Mechanic, and Parker are good examples of the prototypical Statham vehicle. One of the rare occasions in which Statham broke from said formula was Steven Knight’s Redemption. Statham did his finest work in the somber tale of a homeless war vet, his romance with a kind-hearted nun, and an investigation into the murder of another transient. Yes, Statham laid serious beatdowns to an assortment of baddies, but the fight scenes weren’t elaborately staged and were always in service of the story.

Wild Card is an unsuccessful attempt to once again give audiences something more than a standard Statham punch-a-thon.

Wild Card is based on the 1985 novel Heat by William Goldman, the legendary scribe behind All the President’s Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Princess Bride. Heat was previously adapted into a box office flop that starred Burt Reynolds and featured a revolving door of directors including Robert Altman and Dick Richards, who was punched out by Reynolds. Goldman tries his hand once more with Statham in the lead and Simon West (Con Air, The Expendables 2) in the director’s seat.

Statham is Nick Wild and he’s a more credible protagonist than Reynolds as Nick “The Mex” Escalante. Wild makes his home in the underbelly of the Vegas Strip, the parts that are tucked away from the gaudy tourist traps and glamorous suites for high rollers. Wild’s Vegas is a purgatory where ambitious travelers failed to earn the riches necessary to live out their dreams. In Wild’s case, he’s got his eye on Corsica. Unfortunately, he’s also an inveterate gambler who loses any money he earns from assorted odd jobs. Wild’s latest problems involve Holly, a former flame working as a prostitute who is beaten to a pulp by volatile gangster Danny DeMarco (Milo Ventimiglia). When Wild helps Holly exact revenge on DeMarco, it leads to problem after problem.

Wild Card won’t be highlighted anytime soon by the Las Vegas board of tourism. This is a film far from the glitzy hotels with gloomy skies and lonely nights. The supporting cast is layered with noted actors like Jason Alexander, Stanley Tucci, Anne Heche, and Sofia Vergera. These are mostly glorified cameos and it’s almost disappointing to see someone of the caliber of Hope Davis appear in a handful of scenes as a blackjack dealer. In fact, the women in Wild Card are all waitresses, hookers, and the like. On the other hand, these casting coups accentuate this version of Vegas as a depressing way station where someone can easily lose himself or herself.

This is an intriguing premise to find Jason Statham. Unfortunately, none of the filmmakers felt truly invested in making Wild Card a Sartre-esque tale of existential entrapment. Moments of melancholy are brief as the movie breaks out into a bar room brawl. Wild Card features two significant fight scenes, neither of which are particularly memorable in spite of choreography by Corey Yuen.

Wild Card was quickly shuffled off into obscurity following a limited theatrical run. This is a film confused about its own existence. It’s one that’s not quite a drama and not quite an action flick. Recommended only for die-hard Statham-ites.

Rating: ** (*****)

Rampart

Rampart - Dir. Oren Moverman (2011)

"I am not a racist. The fact is, I hate everyone equally."

Screenwriter Oren Moverman made a strong directorial debut with 2009's The Messenger, a heavy drama with Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster as army officers charged with notifying families that their loved ones were killed in action. In my opinion, it was one of the best films of the year and netted Moverman an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Harrelson one for Best Supporting Actor. Moverman and Harrelson have teamed again for Rampart, a gritty drama set during the Rampart scandal of the late-90's.

The LAPD became notorious nationwide for the infamous beating of Rodney King. They again rose to public consciousness following the uncovering of widespread corruption in the anti-gang unit of the Rampart Division. Charges included bribery, falsifying evidence, armed robbery, and drug dealing.

Amidst the chaos, we meet Officer Dave Brown (Harrelson), a former Vietnam vet, who sees the streets of L.A. as his new battleground. Rampart opens in a seemingly conventional manner with Brown berating a female trainee (played by Julian Schnabel's daughter, Stella) for refusing to eat french fries because she is on a diet. But, this is not a retread of Training Day. The rookie isn't seen again and the rest of the film becomes a trip into an urban Dante's Inferno with its protagonist descending deeper and deeper into the pit.

Dave Brown is definitely the bad cop. He has earned the nickname, "Date Rape Dave," because he allegedly murdered a business partner suspected of multiple rape. A former law student, he can cite obscure legal precedent off the top of his head. He failed the BAR exam, but it's obvious it wasn't due to a lack of intelligence. It seems Brown was more interested in cracking heads.

He's also the patriarch of an unconventional little family. Brown has two ex-wives (Anne Heche & Cynthia Nixon), who happen to be sisters and live next door to each other. He has a daughter with each of them and, with the exception of the youngest girl, they all hate his guts. When Brown fails to get in bed with one sister, he moves on to the next one.

Brown ignites another scandal after a hit-and-run collision that sees him chase the suspect and mercilessly beat him with his flashlight. The incident is captured on video and played endlessly on the news. Already under scrutiny, Brown is hammered by investigators from Internal Affairs and the D.A's office. Needing cash to support his family and his legal defense, Brown robs a high stakes poker game and kills an unarmed man, forcing him to cover up yet another crime.

The cast also includes: Steve Buscemi as the District Attorney, Ben Foster as a homeless vet, Brie Larson as Brown's angry teenage daughter, Ned Beatty as a retired cop and confidant, and Sigourney Weaver and Ice Cube as investigators against Brown.

Woody Harrelson really carries the film. Rampart is seen entirely from Dave Brown's perspective and Harrelson appears in every scene. Harrelson isn't afraid to make Brown a nasty and sometimes pathetic individual. Yet, he's charismatic and articulate so it's easy to see why he's able to bed a number of women night in and night out. It's too bad this great character wasn't given a more compelling story.

There's strong storytelling in the first half of Rampart, but the second half of the movie unravels. The narrative drifts into a series of plot threads that never seem fully formed. One subplot that doesn't go anywhere involves an on/off romance between Brown and a defense attorney played by Robin Wright. There's nothing of note here unless you want to hear Wright state that she likes to "suck cock."

Moverman is struck with the sophomore slump that has befallen many independent filmmakers before him. Despite a magnetic performance by Harrelson, Rampart deals with issues, such as police corruption and their effects on the soul and family, that have been seen numerous times in film and television. The script feels like an entire season of The Shield condensed into an hour and forty minutes.

Rating: ** (*****)

The Other Guys

The Other Guys - Dir. Adam McKay (2010)


Riggs and Murtaugh. Tango and Cash. Add Hoitz and Gamble to the buddy cop pantheon.

The Other Guys opens in true action film fashion with a rousing car chase through the streets of New York City as top cops, Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson), run down the perpetrators. A massive amount of property damage is done to bring in a few crooks possessing a miniscule amount of marijuana. Back at the station house, Danson and Highsmith are greeted with a hero’s welcome. None of the accolades are thrown the way of Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) and Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell). They don’t blow shit up, they don’t get the girls, nor do they make the big arrests.

Hoitz could be doing those things, if not for an embarrassing shooting mishap, which relegated him to desk duty. His partner, Gamble, is a forensic accountant who gleefully enjoys paperwork and has no desire to see any action in the field. While investigating a minor oversight in construction permits, Gamble and Hoitz uncover a Bernie Madoff-style plot by millionaire mogul David Ershon (Steve Coogan) to embezzle $32 billion.

The main cast also features Michael Keaton as the precinct captain who moonlights as the manager of a Bed Bath and Beyond, Eva Mendes as Gamble’s inexplicably hot wife, Ray Stevenson as an Australian mercenary, and an uncredited Anne Heche as a corrupt CEO employing Ershon.

The Other Guys is the fourth collaboration between director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell following Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers. Other Guys isn’t as hilarious as the first two films, but it’s several notches above the somewhat crass Step Brothers. As a spoof of buddy cop films, it works better than Kevin Smith’s Cop Out. However, the genre has become such a self-parody of itself that McKay is simply beating a dead horse. Seeing Wahlberg in a slow-mo John Woo shootout isn’t as funny as it should be because the gag has been done to death.

Where the film excels is in the interactions between the lead actors. Wahlberg has given some terribly wooden performances recently in The Happening and The Lovely Bones. He’s better suited for action and comedy and he’s excellent as the hotheaded straight man. Ferrell’s idiot man-child routine wears thin so he wisely tones it down for Other Guys. There’s a slow burn for his character as they slowly reveal the darker side he’s hidden.

McKay tops it off with his own brand of absurdist humor displayed in many hysterical gags sprinkled throughout the film. Some of the funniest bits include: Coogan bribing our heroes with tickets to Jersey Boys, a run-in with a group of horny hobos led by a fellow named Dirty Mike (played by McKay himself), an ending credits sequence utilizing Powerpoint-style animation to explain Ponzi schemes and government bailouts, and Ferrell constantly being hit on by gorgeous women like Brooke Shields (wife of co-writer Chris Henchy).

Rating: ***