Wild Card (2015)

When a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal skills and a gambling problem gets in trouble with the mob, he has one last play...and it's all or nothing.

Director:

Simon West

Writers:

William Goldman (based on the novel "Heat" by), William Goldman (screenplay by)

Stars:

Jason Statham, Michael Angarano, Dominik García-Lorido

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Statham	...	Nick Wild
Michael Angarano	...	Cyrus Kinnick
Dominik García-Lorido	...	Holly
Hope Davis	...	Cassandra
Milo Ventimiglia	...	Danny DeMarco
Max Casella	...	Osgood
Stanley Tucci	...	Baby
Sofía Vergara	...	DD
Jason Alexander	...	Pinky
Anne Heche	...	Roxy
Chris Browning	...	Tiel
Matthew Willig	...	Kinlaw
François Vincentelli	...	Benny
Davenia McFadden	...	Millicent (as Daviena McFadden)
Michael Papajohn	...	Pit Boss

Storyline

Nick Wild (Jason Statham) is a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal professional skills and a personal gambling problem. When a friend is beaten by a sadistic thug, Nick strikes back, only to find out the thug is the son of a powerful mob boss. Suddenly Nick is plunged into the criminal underworld, chased by enforcers and wanted by the mob. Having raised the stakes, Nick has one last play to change his fortunes...and this time, it's all or nothing.

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Plot Keywords:

brutality | torture | threatening to cut off penis | female frontal nudity | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

Never bet against a man with a killer hand

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 2015 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Heat

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, SJ Heat Productions, Sierra / Affinity

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 102 min (Extended Cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is a remake of the 1986 Burt Reynolds movie "Heat". Statham and Reynolds co-starred together in the 2007 movie "In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale".

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Goofs

When Nick goes to speak with Danny DeMarco in his suite at the Golden Nugget, you can see the Las Vegas Strip (the Eiffel Tower stands out...) outside the window. The Golden Nugget is on Fremont Street downtown, NOT on The Strip.

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Quotes

Cyrus Kinnick: Safety means much to me. I checked under every synonym for safety, but there was no Nick Wild.
Nick Wild: Well, you should have tried between "chapels" and "charm schools."

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Connections

Featured in Original Sin: Las Vegas and the Characters of 'Wild Card' (2015)

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Soundtracks

Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life
(uncredited)
Music by Victor Herbert
Lyrics by Rida Johnson Young
Performed by Michael Angarano

User Reviews

Fun ... just don't engage thinking cap

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.