Action films are supposed to make you sit tight in your seat, relax and while enjoying your popcorn be engaged and entertained following the adventures of the good guy, who “teaches life lessons” to those, who for some reason, have hurt someone he cares about. Generally speaking, the genre is acknowledged to be wildly interesting. Unfortunately, that is not the case of director Simon West’s new action drama “Wild Card“, with Jason Statham as the leading actor.

Nick Wild is an ex-gambler who is currently in Las Vegas, working as a bodyguard for those who need his help. One day his ex-lover approaches him and asks for help in finding the guys who are harassing her. Even though Nick knows how dangerous it will be, he still goes after a man named Danny, only to leave his “assignment” unfinished…

The beginning of “Wild Card” is quite promising. A Latina woman in a bar awaits a man, while staring at drunk Wild who is annoying her with his brazen attitude. With the arrival of her married boyfriend, who tries to show Nick how helpless he, the dynamic start of the film immediately comes to an end. From there on the viewer is left to figure out the rest of the story on their own, since Wild seems to have nothing more to offer.

The slow start followed by pointless and drugged out scenes continue until Nick’s ex-girlfriend comes onto the screen. This is where I found myself wanting to leave the auditorium – because at this point the poor dialogue combined with Nick’s unwillingness to help his friend went beyond all my expectations. We don’t often see Jason Statham afraid of three gunned men and trying to avoid them at all costs. The prospect of getting killed in a fight would not have stopped him either. However, in West’s “Wild Card”, Statham does not look like himself; moreover, I would say – he has never looked as bad as in this particular film.

In conclusion, neither Statham, with all his charm and power and nor the appearance of such actors, as Stanley Tucci, Hope Davis or Sofia Vergara could not save this film from falling to the bottom of the pile. Bad editing, an incredibly unconvincing performance delivered by Statham, and the pointless plot (by the way, written by two-time Academy Award winner William Goldman – the writer of “The Princess Bride”) make this film wildly boring. Even though the year has just begun, “Wild Card” will certainly make it to my short list of worst films of 2015.