The film is from the director of Con Air and the writer of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Our TV movie pick for tonight (Friday, 30 August) is Wild Card, the 2015 underseen action thriller gem with a great cast led by Jason Statham (The Transporter).
In the film, Statham plays Nick Wild – a gambling addict who takes odd jobs in Las Vegas as a bodyguard to support his addiction.
Amidst carrying out this work, he helps an old friend (Dominik García-Lorido, Mr. Robot) get revenge on a sadistic thug (Milo Ventimiglia, Land of Bad) who beat her.
It turns out, however, that the attacker is in the employ of a powerful mob boss (Stanley Tucci, Spotlight), causing all sorts of additional problems for Wild.
Wild Card was directed by Simon West (Con Air, Lara Croft), while its script was penned by two-time Oscar-winner William Goldman (All the President’s Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) based off of a novel he wrote.
Its cast also includes Anne Heche (Volcano), Hope Davis (Succession), Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), Max Casella (Boardwalk Empire), Michael Angarano (Horizon) and Sofía Vergara (Modern Family).
And though it earned mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office flop, we’d argue that the flick’s athletically bone-crunching action set-pieces, its cool Vegas setting, its pulpy story and its fun performances make it worth seeking out.
Wild Card is airing on TV on Film4 at midnight. It is also available to rent on Apple TV, Google Play, Rakuten TV and the Sky Store.
Here are the other movies on TV tonight:
The Departed – Film4 – 9pm
Director Martin Scorsese’s incredible, Oscar Best Picture winning gangster thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and many other big names.
We’ve recommended it several times before.
Die Another Day – ITV4 – 9pm
Pierce Brosnan’s fourth and final outing as Bond.
Edge of the World – Legend – 9pm
This 2021 adventure drama film stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as real-life British soldier and adventurer James Brooke.
Major Dundee – TG4 – 9.15pm
A ’60s US Civil War Western from director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch) with Charlton Heston, Richard Harris and James Coburn.
Being the Ricardos – RTÉ One – 9.35pm
Nicole Kidman is I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball in this biographical drama.
The Deer Hunter – RTÉ2 – 10pm
Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro headline this powerful ’70s drama about the impact the Vietnam War has on a trio of friends from Pennsylvania.
American Pie 2 – E4 – 10.05pm
The second one.
Captain Phillips – BBC One – 10.40pm
Barkhad Abdi and Tom Hanks are incredible in this action thriller about a real-life ship hijacking in 2009.
Read more:
- Underseen sci-fi gem with never-better Ryan Reynolds streaming on Netflix now
- Hardy Bucks pay tribute to co-star Alan Carter after his death
- New season of Lord of the Rings TV show debuts to rave reviews
- Barry Keoghan joins cast of new Peaky Blinders movie on Netflix
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