10 Recent Films That Really Deserve More Love

Based on a novel by William Goldman, Heat (1987) starred Burt Reynolds (then entering his post-Cannonball Run career slump) as an ex-mercenary who hires himself out as a bodyguard/chaperone in Las Vegas. Complications ensue when he encounters the son of a mobster and a businessman who wants to learn how to defend himself.

This remake reunites Jason Statham with director Simon West (The Mechanic, Expendables 2) and gives The Stath a chance to play a character instead of a thug who throws people through walls. This is a low key drama that’s closer to Hummingbird than Crank, but Statham is so good in a rare (for him) non-growling role that you wish he’d do straight drama more often.

Better paced and more entertaining than the original (a troubled production where Reynolds fell out with the director), Wild Card won’t rock your world but it’s still a solid movie. Throw in a decent supporting cast that includes Stanley Tucci and Sophia Vergara, and you’ve got a movie that’s well worth a look.