In this remake of the James Caan 1974 vehicle The Gambler, an English professor (Mark Wahlberg) who is also a compulsive gambler finds that the only people who will have anything to do with him are those to whom he owes money. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, Jessica Lange, John
Goodman, Emory Cohen
Release Date: Dec
25, 2014
Rated R for some Sexuality/Nudity and Language
Throughout
Runtime: 1 hr. 51 min.
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller
Review:
The Gambler is a film that’s trying very hard to be
something special. Rupert Wyatt gives
the film a glossy sheen, driving it through its narrative with noticeable
energy. Mark Walhberg is doing his best
Christian Bale impression by losing a massive amount of weight and looking
generally disheveled. John Goodman does
excellent work in a supporting role as Mafioso. Typically all this would make for an excellent
film but the results here are mixed. I
respect Walhberg’s attempts to take his craft seriously but he’s seriously
miscast here as the worlds most aggressive English professor. He gives it his best try but it doesn’t work,
it’s just never believable. It’s always
good to see Brie Larson get some work but she’s saddled with a nonsensical love
interest role. We’re told she’s a genius
early on but her actions throughout the rest of the film tell us otherwise.
John Goodman does give us an excellent supporting turn, creating an extremely
intimidating character in limited scenes.
All in all The Gambler feels like a missed opportunity because there
seems to be a better film in there somewhere.
this is disappointing.
ReplyDeleteI know, I was really looking forward to this and expecting big things.
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