Wild Card SPOILER FREE Review

If you're like me, or the Doc, or if you're a sane person then a new Jason Statham film, whatever it is, is reason for rejoicing. Maybe even doing a little jig, in a manly way.

After a fantastic and prolific run of films from The Expendables through to Redemption/Hummingbird, Homefront, while it was good fun, seemed a bit like treading water for old Stath. Then last year we only had the lacklustre Expendables 3 in which Stath was relegated to the sidelines, first with the appearance of the wonderful Wesley Snipes (which we didn't mind) but then bizarrely and wrongly for Ellen Klutz!
2015 though is shaping up to be more of a usual run for Jason Statham. It begins with Wild Card, we have his first foray into big budget comedy with Spy and a lead baddie role in the much anticipated Furious 7. Then hot on the heals of all that he kicks off 2016 with a sequel to his awesome take on Bronson and Winner's The Mechanic with Mechanic: Resurrection.

Ok, so to Wild Card then, what's the verdict?
Well the first thing I should point out is that it's not really an action movie, in the traditional sense. There is action in it and two of the scenes in particular are joyous, violent, exciting, well shot, brilliantly executed and suitably cathartic but overall I would describe it as a character piece with a slice of crime drama and action/revenge film tacked on for good measure.
I have read tons of reviews coming down on this movie, mostly criticising The Stath, and I have to say that they couldn't all be more wrong. The two best things about this movie are Statham and Simon West, the director. The third best thing is Vegas.

First though, let's get the bad news out of the way. The one thing the other critics won't say or do is criticise the Hollywood legend William Goldman who penned this film, the book it's based on and the Burt Reynolds version of the same story Heat from 1986. I, however, am not most critics. This script, which is almost identical in places to Heat, has no structure, pretty weak dialogue and never quite delves into the character of Nick Wild in the way the movie sort of suggests it should.
Let me explain that last part.
The film is made up of lots of little strands of plots. A crime story involving the mob and a battered woman's revenge, a wealthy kid who hires Wild to bring him out of himself and be more of a man and, all the while, Wild wanting to leave Vegas but also never quite being able to. None of which are ultimately, really important as they are all meant to just add up to a character study of Nick Wild who, we learn, is a well liked security expert/bodyguard/problem solver with a rough exterior but a heart of gold who has a little issue gambling.
It's the 'throw enough bits in a pot and you'll be able to cook something' approach to screenwriting.
What depth, character and moments there are to be found are brought out by the collaboration of Simon West and Jason Statham, not by anything readily apparent in the script and the pair of them are superb here.
It's a difficult watch though because it's not a standard narrative. The crime story sort of has a three act structure but not really and the film, if it was a traditional film, just sort of ends.

The other thing that threw me out of the film a little was the whole world Nick inhabited was populated by famous actors but all of them just showed up for one, sometimes two small scenes. It's an interesting way to cast a film but it did leave me sitting there thinking 'what the hell are they doing in here for just 5mins? that's a bit mad' rather than fully engaging with their characters.
Stanley Tucci, Jason Alexander, Sofia Vergara, Hope Davis, and Anne Heche all just crop up and are gone almost as soon as they appear. They play such innocuous, nothing roles as waitresses, card dealers, a lawyer, a mobster... just random 'that guy' roles but being played by recognisable, fairly high tier, character actors.
Due to the nature of the plot and the nature of the casting, when the film ends you sort of wish you could spend a lot more time in this world. I have heard this said by another critic but it's something I agree with, it's almost like a pilot for a Statham driven show on HBO or Showtime. It has that kind of plot and casting. A TV Show, I might add, I would watch every week. However as a film it does feel slightly like 90 minutes of set up and no pay off.

All that being said Vegas has never looked so 50s, shabby and cool. Simon West directs with the sure hand of an old pro while also putting in some welcome style and interesting editing. It has a 50s meets 70s feel, it's scored with groovy, slow versions of Christmas songs and it's very very cool.
Nick Wild is also a great Statham character because while he can handle himself physically, and he does in some tremendously choreographed, beautifully shot, violent as all hell fight scenes, he also has a nice sense of humour, a strong moral principle and a weakness for the cards. It is only this last aspect, the gambling addiction that traps him in the purgatory of Vegas, that just doesn't come across very well. There's either not enough time spent on it, the script doesn't write it well enough or it just belongs in another movie like a "Leaving Las Vegas" style thing perhaps. Statham does his best to sell it though.
If I had to pitch it to you it's Drive (the Ryan Gosling film) meets Leaving Las Vegas the TV Show pilot with Jason Statham.

oh look! It's Lee Christmas! wait... wrong movie...

I would say catch it on VOD unless you're a hardcore Stath head like I am. It does look kick ass on the big screen though, just saying.

- The Kick Ass Kid

The Package - A Kick Ass Kid Review

Recording the podcast with Dr.Action brought me in contact with a lot of 80s and 90s action films and film stars that I was either not aware of or only had name recognition at best. It's been a genuinely rich and fantastic time with last years Speaktember (The films of Jeff Speakman) and our recent Gary Daniels The Britkicker month being particular highlights.

Around the same time and post Expendables  I was aware of a whole new batch of straight-to-video action films filling the shelves of my local retailer or filling up Netflix. So recently I have been delving a little bit into those and, if I am honest, despite them all having their plus points and featuring pretty decent action, they were a mixed bag. This was, usually and sadly, down to the directors and editors of these cheaply shot, quickly produced and distributed movies. Terrible shaky cam, erratic and often comically bad editing, poorly done color correction and all of it bathed in irritating, loud hip-hop soundtracks. This is a shame because the scripts were usually pretty good, the cast were doing their best and the action was clearly where they spent the money.

Tonight, however, I got to see The Package and, while I know it's not the only example of this, it surprised me, specifically, with how good it was made, not just as a straight to video actioner starring the always reliable Lundgren and the charasmatic, steely gazed, shit kicker Austin but as a proper, decent film. Much in the same way that something like a First Blood transcends the trappings of the 'action film' label and becomes something more, something classic, so The Package rose high above the standard low-budget action fare to become something damn good and interesting.

Just quickly for the record I like all types of action from the shot on DV stuff to the multi million dollar franchises, the above paragraph is really to just sing the praises of The Package's surprising production values, plot and script, depth of performance and editing.

The plot revolves around Austin's character who is ex-military and working as a goon/bag man for a leading crime boss. He is doing it to help his prison inmate brother out of trouble and out of debt and also because, sadly, he feels, there is no other work paying this well for a guy with, what he sees to be, his limited set of skills. He has a woman he loves but can't tell her as he seems ashamed somewhat and knows the danger of this job he's fallen into. Austin conveys all this mental conflict quite well and his scenes of reflection and scenes with his lady are charming and touching in an unexpected way.
The crime boss, the excellently named Big Doug, then approaches our hero with a proposal: deliver a package to 'The German' (Dolph Lundgren) in British Columbia and he'll wipe his brother's debt off the books.
It turns out there are two other second tier crime lords besides The German, all vying for the same power and territory. One, foolishly, attempts to kill The German, with cool, ass kicking Lundgren consequences and the other dispatches a team to intercept Austin and get the package from him, headed up by the always awesome Brit, Darren Shahlavi. The German is dying and The Package everyone is after may just hold the key to saving him.

Steve Austin, who I have only seen in The Expendables, Tactical Force and this, is a great find for me. He has the look, he has the fighting skills, he has a sense of humour and he's not a bad actor at all. After the last couple of films I have seen him in, I will definitely be checking out more.

From dramatically and artistically staged fight scenes to moments of dark humour and containing some lovely thoughtful, internal and even nuanced performances from Austin and, especially, Lundgren, this really was, pardon the bad joke, the complete package. The direction is assured and restrained and, in fact, without the explosive gun play, this could easily feel like a cool 70s crime film as the pacing is welcomely slower when compared to other ADD infused films. The setting of the North Western United States and West Canada also allow for the film to look and feel a bit different. It's overcast, often raining and pleasingly moody without being purposefully gritty and over reaching.

If your a fan of the action or crime genres I strongly urge that you check this out and see why there is definitely life in this old punch-throwing, action bird yet.

- The Kick Ass Kid