Given the cult status of The Mechanic, it’s no wonder that it has only taken four years for director Simon West to reunite with his no-nonsense star Jason Statham for another bout of high-octane action. Only this time around, the filmmaker is shifting the action to Sin City for Wild Card, which will see the Stath step into the shoes of an ex-marine with an uncontrollable penchant for gambling.
With a script from William Goldman — creative mind behind Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride — there’s certainly an air of promise with the pair’s latest outing. Centering around Nick Wild (Statham), Wild Card will see our protagonist get in deep with the sharks when he steps up to protect a friend, only to find that he has gotten on the wrong side of some of the most ruthless mob bosses in town.
Granted it’s not a plot that is out to reinvent the wheel, but given the quality of the cast on board, including Dominik GarcÃa-Lorido, Anne Heche, Sofia Vergara, Max Casella, Jason Alexander, Hope Davis and Stanley Tucci, we’re holding out hope that Statham will revel in a genre he’s been synonymous with ever since his first appearance in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels all the way back in ’98.
Wild Card released in theaters across North America back in December, while those in the UK can look forward to see the Stath in action on March 20.
Nick Wild, an ex-marine and gambling addict, goes into the protection business but plans to leave Las Vegas for a better life. When his last girlfriend, Holly, is found beaten and left for dead, he agrees to help revenge her. He will soon discover that the guilty man is Danny DeMarco, a member of a powerful mob family.
