The Gambler Reviews

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. First of all, for Rupert Wyatt, this movie was such a weird career move. I mean, back in 2011, he had managed to relaunch the Planet of the Apes franchise with 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' which had been a big commercial and critical success. However, he declined to direct the next installment because, apparently, he felt he didn't have enough time to reach the release date. Instead, he decided to direct this rather obscure remake of another obscure movie from the 70's which would be eventually released also in 2014, the exact same year 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' came out... Anyway, after all, this movie didn't get much love when it was released but I have to admit that I always had a weak spot for movies dealing with gambling degenerates. In this case, even if the story was rather generic and predictable, I really liked the tone though and the main character was maybe not fascinating but still interesting enough. It was also neat to see Mark Wahlberg finally doing something else than his usual action flicks or comedies. On top of that, he did deliver a solid performance, even though it is always hard to swallow it when he is playing some supposedly super smart character but I have to admit that, this time, he almost convinced me. Concerning the rest of the cast, they were all fine, except for Brie Larson. I mean, she wasn't bad at all but her character was rather thankless and seriously underdeveloped. In fact, from all the characters, she was the only me who didn't make much sense and, basically, she was there just to make sure that the main character would have a (completely random) love interest. Anyway, to conclude, even if the damned thing was nothing really groundbreaking, I thought it was still fairly entertaining and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Wahlberg leads a cast far more interesting than he in the ever-frustrating battling life of a 'gambler', although he would suggest otherwise.

At least this role as a teacher is much more successful than the one he attempts in 'The Happening', perhaps his quintessential bad film.

This talks the talk, but is darn too talkative (much too much talk), and its main character is not clearly defined. Definitely not the film I expected, nor the performances Mark Wahlberg is known for.

I usually enjoy Mark Wahlberg movies so when I saw this was coming out I knew I would be checking it out. I had no idea this was a remake however. This was directed by the guy who did Rise of the Planet of the Apes which I think is interesting since Mark Wahlberg was the star of the previous remake of Planet of the Apes. The music and the atmosphere of the movie actually kind of feels like it takes place in the 70s of which the original was made in. The acting is amazing. The story itself is pretty depressing. I think the whole thing was pretty remarkable especially the ending. Nobody likes to admit they have a problem and I thought this captured that and a lot of other emotions and issues quite well. I have been liking most of the movies that are up for awards and this one doesn't change that. I thought it was quite realistic in it's depiction of such a bad addiction. I highly recommend this to Mark Wahlberg fans. Hell maybe it may get non-fans to enjoy him in this as well.