story-jonathan

The acting seemed adequate, the location was well-suited to the film's setting, and I didn't think that the movie suffered too much by its budget. However, it seemed to me that the premise of the movie -- a near-future where the brain could directly link with the computer -- was clamped onto a pedestrian mystery plot. What the movie needed above all else was a decent, polished script. Without it, we are left with a movie that tends to plod and doesn't make much sense. What the makers should have done is raise another million dollars and given it to a master scriptwriter for a rewrite. There were the seeds of something much better here.

If you were to split Wild Card into parts of ten minutes each, every part would be enjoyable. It's when you stitch the parts together, however, that it becomes evident that the movie doesn't completely hang together. It seems to me that some important bits were left in the editing room, and that the story was rushed along, instead of being given room to breathe. To my mind, there were enough ideas for three or four decent noir-ish Stratham movies: the woman wronged; the gambling addiction; the "kid"; and the hotelier.

Also, I want to put in a good word for Stanley Tucci. He has a small role but he filled it completely, and he was another reason that I was regretting the movie was not expanded into more parts, following the tradition of "The Hobbit".

Overall, if you're a Stratham fan, this is not his best work, but it is still well worth a watch.