I like the original Gambler better. The honest reason? Because the ending is ambiguous and grim. Neither movie is all that exceptional, nor are they excessively lousy. But, if you're going to build the house around a nihilist beating the drum of his own demise, screw it; let the house come down around him.
I'm not really commenting on the end of the remake, I'm just saying the end of the original was better. And outside of Shakespeare versus Dostoyevsky, the ending is the only meaningful separation point between the two...
Read more after the jump!
I'm not really commenting on the end of the remake, I'm just saying the end of the original was better. And outside of Shakespeare versus Dostoyevsky, the ending is the only meaningful separation point between the two...
Read more after the jump!
Again, it's pretty fun, and your enjoyment of the film is proportional to your tolerance for tough talking guy dramas. Heavies bloviate, heroes self-loathe, and the soundtrack is excellent. Is there a flimsy, near invisible ingenue grafted on the story? You bet there is. But for real, so what? There's also plenty of laughs, intelligence, and yummy slow motion shots with great songs behind them.
In a surprising turn, the film is more of a nod to the '70s films the preponderance of miserable guy in a suit film of the 1990's were grabbing at. Though where the visual aesthetic feels vintage, the Gambler never lets itself get too messy, which is an all important trait.
The bright point is the talent. John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Michael K. Williams, and Brie Larson all float around the celestial body that is Mark Wahlberg. Goodman and Williams take turns as the gangster with a paragraph to say if he has a sentence. Lange and Larson are the women. One is the woman Wahlberg as James Bennett came from. The other is the woman seduced by the slipstream of his self-detonation. And honestly, Brie, I know you play a college student with a crush on her wounded professor, but that's a stay away.
Oh, did I mention Wahlberg plays wounded Professor Bennett? Totally, and it's awesome. The scenes where he commands his classroom are among the absolute best. Dialogue cut straight from the heart of a Tisch School of Writing grad never successful enough to be a failure, it's music to every wannabe writer's ears. (Looks around nervously). And if anything, The Gambler shows how Wahlberg continues to expand his range and has put together one of the finest career arcs of any of our elite leading men.
In the end, it's the end. Not only incongruent with the rest of the film's darkish demeanor, it feels borrowed from another story. Some final thought airlifted in at the last moment by a nervous producer, it's truly a propos of nothing. You don't hit the bottom and break through to your redemption. If redemption is what you're after, we've got to believe you want to climb out first.
By its nature The Gambler remake is a 16, the most dreaded hand in blackjack according to St. Google. High probability for failure and still not quite good enough to beat the house. Trapped between bust and 21, there's really no good place to go.
—Monte Monreal
In a surprising turn, the film is more of a nod to the '70s films the preponderance of miserable guy in a suit film of the 1990's were grabbing at. Though where the visual aesthetic feels vintage, the Gambler never lets itself get too messy, which is an all important trait.
The bright point is the talent. John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Michael K. Williams, and Brie Larson all float around the celestial body that is Mark Wahlberg. Goodman and Williams take turns as the gangster with a paragraph to say if he has a sentence. Lange and Larson are the women. One is the woman Wahlberg as James Bennett came from. The other is the woman seduced by the slipstream of his self-detonation. And honestly, Brie, I know you play a college student with a crush on her wounded professor, but that's a stay away.
Oh, did I mention Wahlberg plays wounded Professor Bennett? Totally, and it's awesome. The scenes where he commands his classroom are among the absolute best. Dialogue cut straight from the heart of a Tisch School of Writing grad never successful enough to be a failure, it's music to every wannabe writer's ears. (Looks around nervously). And if anything, The Gambler shows how Wahlberg continues to expand his range and has put together one of the finest career arcs of any of our elite leading men.
In the end, it's the end. Not only incongruent with the rest of the film's darkish demeanor, it feels borrowed from another story. Some final thought airlifted in at the last moment by a nervous producer, it's truly a propos of nothing. You don't hit the bottom and break through to your redemption. If redemption is what you're after, we've got to believe you want to climb out first.
By its nature The Gambler remake is a 16, the most dreaded hand in blackjack according to St. Google. High probability for failure and still not quite good enough to beat the house. Trapped between bust and 21, there's really no good place to go.
—Monte Monreal
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