Wild Card

Whither The Stath? Jason Statham has reached a career juncture where he can either consolidate his proven skill-set – glower-glower-biff-repeat – or broaden his horizons. Last year’s flawed London drama ‘Hummingbird’, in which he played a homeless Afghanistan veteran, went for horizon-broadening. This remake of the 1986 Burt Reynolds clinker ‘Heat’ is somewhere in between. Statham is a washed-up Las Vegas ‘security consultant’ who shows geeky twentysomething software millionaire Michael Angarano around town, both having insights to gain from this unlikely association. However, such amiable character stuff doesn’t allow the star to hit people, so there’s a functional subplot involving a minor mobster and unexceptional bouts of digitally-buffed mayhem. As such, it’s neither a proper drama nor a full-on action flick. Statham struggles to generate the required world-weary gravitas, while Stanley Tucci’s cameo as an effortlessly suave casino boss provides the film’s standout moment.