The Gambler 2014

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The dialogue never leaves the surface and the running across Los Angeles that happens in the last sequence is supposed to thrill you, but it's such a cliche that your embarrassment extends to the crew member who has to follow with the camera. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: This remake of the 1974 James Caan film written by James Toback ... crackles with mordant cynicism. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Another wet battery about a week in the life of a gambling addict. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: A dull, self-consciously arty wallow in the messed-up life of a character we don't care about. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: There's enough swaggering cynicism for three pictures but barely enough soul to sustain even one in Rupert Wyatt's "The Gambler," a stylish, energetic but disappointingly glib remake of Karel Reisz's still-potent 1974 drama of the same title. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Blackjack is more of a noose than a needle for this self-destructive blowhard, and if that sounds less dramatic than the tale of a man who just can't walk away from the table, it is significantly funnier. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: The return is as miniscule as the stakes. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: It's just like the Kenny Rogers song says: "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em." It's time for this "Gambler" to walk away. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Though Wahlberg is a fine actor, there's no way I can buy him as a college English professor holding forth on Shakespeare and Camus. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: The one bit of good news is that the first Gambler is currently streaming on Netflix. Do yourself a favor and watch that one instead. Read more

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: We didn't really care enough about Jim to be invested in his ultimate fate. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: In nearly every scene, Wahlberg carries off the central role with what could be called determined elan. Read more

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: By suppressing Wahlberg's more typical sparkling unpredictability, this new reading of the character recasts him into someone more frustrating than free. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The Gambler is about the torturous dissatisfaction some people feel when they've managed to do everything right but still don't feel fulfilled Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Low on action and tension, long on grand speeches. Wahlberg gets an A for effort in an unlikely role. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: If someone is really that intent on self-destruction, why should we be his audience? Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Whether Wahlberg's been miscast or misdirected, we never buy him as a desperate addict. Still, the movie is so quick and cool that for much of the time, we barely notice how little is actually at stake. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: What's mostly missing from "The Gambler" is a sense of why Jim is so insistent on squandering his money, privilege and patrimony. Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: Despite terrific, witty performances by Williams and Goodman, most of the talent is wasted in this picture. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The Gambler is a solid remake - a film that retraces the path of the original while carving out its own identity. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The hopeful ending comes off as too little, too late. Wahlberg gives the role his all, but sticking with him is a futile gesture. The Gambler never pays off. It's a sucker's bet. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: An agreeable if ridiculous slice of old-school Hollywood machismo ... Read more

Kristin Tillotson, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A string of powerful performances, particularly Wahlberg's, and a killer soundtrack - including M83, Dinah Washington and St. Paul & the Broken Bones - redeem a middling entertainment gambit. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: In a role that would have been ideal for Tom Cruise in psycho mode, Wahlberg is merely OK. Unfortunately, the film's effectiveness turns on whether we buy into his angst. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Slick but slight, The Gambler is an unnecessary remake of a well-regarded 1974 film. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: This certainly is one driven narrative. Wahlberg reportedly lost 60 lbs. for the role, and his gaunt look makes Jim seem all the more haunted as he repeatedly throws away vast sums on games of chance. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: It's no mystery why actors and directors want to relive the magic of American studio movies from the fabled 1970s, but if you're not going to take the risks that the originals did, or illuminate as much about the characters, why redo them at all? Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The Gambler is a hollow, overwrought and glibly cynical remake of a '70s drama about a self-destructive academic. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: Wyatt ... brings some bristly, swaggering energy to the thing, and that in turn may have loosened Wahlberg up: He's both more intense and freer than he's been in years. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: As The Gambler becomes less about its protagonist's dashed intellectualism and more about the gathering danger of his predicament, the film gains power. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: Watching a hostile pessimist purposefully sabotaging his own good fortune just isn't as fun as it sounds. Read more