Apparently an impressive film in the original 2005 French-Georgian version, but this remake doesn't cut it. The tension is there in the Russian roulette and duel scenes, and there are competent or even very good actors involved (Mickey Rourke is becoming a specialist at playing the down and out loser with a heart; he's terrific here), but even they can't save this from a bad script. It looks like director-writer Gela Babluani wanted to Hollywoodise his original small budget foreign-film festival winner style film not by special effects but by introducing Rain Man style back stories, in particular an illogical one between Jason Statham as a tout who, inexplicably, can raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to bet on human lives yet keeps his brother (Ray Winstone) in an asylum (Rain Man!) and takes him out (Rain Man!) to compete in these scenarios (apparently, this one is his fourth). Mommy and daddy left money to take care of him (Rain Man!) but Statham inexplicably feels the need to make his brother flirt with death and bring him wealth (Rain Man!). In the end, we are left to wonder if he kills the main character (well played by Sam Riley) for his accidental winnings or to avenge the death of his brother. There are other back stories that are just as much rip offs or, worse, just thrown in to humanise (I guess) the characters. The problem is that nearly every one has a back story, and so there is no time or place to develop any of them (except the Statham-Winstone one, with disastrous, unmotivated and unexplained results). This is a typical example where well-known and competent actors can't save a bad script. Just because we are all able and willing to suspend our disbelief and accept Wookies and vampires for an hour and half doesn't mean we suspend our disbelief in basic emotions and psychology. It's really a shame, because the premise is good, the initial set up explaining how an ordinary young man (Riley) gets involved in a life and death game is handled well, good casting (except for getting names to play bit parts and hopefully revitalise their careers, which seems a little Love Boat style to me), good lighting and camera work (I'm not sure if it was just my version, but I thought the flat lighting that made everyone's face a little lifeless and that transformed sweat into grease was well done, if intentional), but then it all falls apart from the ridiculous attempts to humanise the players. Not horrible, but a waste of talent.
