There are few directors aside from Shane Black with whom it is so enjoyable to spend a couple of violent and profane hours. The hit screenwriter and director, who’s bequeathed us low-key genre classics like Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2007) and The Nice Guys (2016), is back on form with Play Dirty, a comedic thriller starring Mark Wahlberg which is now streaming on Amazon Prime. Play Dirty is based upon the series of Parker novels by Donald E. Westlake (writing as Richard Stark), which have been adapted several times into features, most notably in 2012 with Jason Statham. (That one, brilliantly, was titled Parker.) But Black’s is the first cinematic depiction which comes closest to capturing the tricky character of Parker and Westlake’s singular tone. It’s a welcome return for the filmmaker after a few too many wilderness years, and it’s Wahlberg’s best performance in nearly a decade.
Play Dirty Is Pleasurable Pulp Fiction
Play Dirty kicks off with a terrifically staged action sequence which ranks among the best Black has staged. Parker and his pack of ne’er-do-wells (including the always-great Thomas Jane) are in the process of ripping off a racetrack when things go badly wrong, leading to more than one death. Back at the hideout, Zen (Rosa Salazar) performs a striptease before gunning down her lusty male cohorts and stealing the $400,000 in cash. Parker lives to see another day, but just barely.
Some time later, Parker is drawn back into Zen’s circle with the promise of stealing the archaeological artifacts and other assorted riches from a 15th-century Spanish galleon which is being held at the United Nations. But, you see, this is really a noble effort, for the ship and its contents have been pilfered by De La Paz (Alejandro Edda), the president of Zen’s corrupt homeland. “We’re stealing from the thieves,” Parker’s gang member at one point reiterates, in case you missed it.
Black Melds His Style with a Mainstream Blockbuster
Since making his directorial debut with Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Black has waffled uneasily between cult action-comedies and middling blockbuster plays. For his two undisputed classics (Kiss Kiss and The Nice Guys), he’s also batting two big-budget bustswith Iron Man 3 (2013) and The Predator (2018), the latter of which was subjected to much post-production meddling. Play Dirty is the filmmaker's first movie in seven years, and it's the closest he's come to bridging his synonymous style with a studio picture. It's an amiable union, at long last.
While more overstuffed and CGI-reliant than one might hope, Play Dirty is a consistently entertaining piece of pulp that hums along at a pleasurable clip and boasts two very well-staged set pieces amongst the handful on offer. (A few sequences look too video-gamey to land, and a subway-set caper which completes the trifecta initiated by Highest 2 LowestandCaught Stealing is undoubtedly the least of the three.) It’s set at Christmas, like so many of Black’s films are, and it seems tailor-made to be viewed in that liminal space between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Its release at the beginning of October is presumably to give some audiences a head start on the festivities.
Wahlberg Replaced Robert Downey Jr.
Wahlberg, donning his signature black turtleneck, inherited the lead role from Robert Downey Jr., who, along with his wife, Susan Downey, and their Team Downey banner, is credited as producer. Only because Downey is such an unexpected performer, and because he worked so well with Black in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, do you occasionally wish for that version of the movie. Wahlberg rises to the occasion with an energetic performance (here, he’s the best he’s been since 2016’s All the Money in the World), but the material seems better-suited to Downey’s eccentric charisma. Parker, for all of his good qualities, has never been the coolest or brawniest guy in the room, but Wahlberg endeavors to make him so. (Statham’s version of the character suffered for the same reasons, albeit on a larger scale.)
Play Dirty will not rank among the best of Black’s work, nor will it reinvent the action-comedy genre, but it is propulsive and giddily entertaining in that wink-wink sort of way at which Black excels. Perhaps predictably, the movie’s ace is its starry cast. The stand-out is LaKeith Stanfield, as a downtrodden theater owner turned thief, who is rather revelatory in a quietly hysterical turn. Keegan-Michael Key, Tony Shalhoub (seemingly reprising his role from Pain and Gain), and an unrecognizable Nat Wolff round out the supporting players, all of whom perfectly grasp the tone. In a small role, Gretchen Mol provides an emotional backbone and reminds you what a welcome presence she is. Would that she were one of the main gang.
Play Dirty is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/1lnG4Bc
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