Within the closing scene of Poker Face, you get a reasonably clear image of what this Russell Crowe film was aiming for: An inspiring journey that has one thing to say about dependancy, father-daughter relationships, and the way friendships remodel over years. It will be touching, if solely what you witnessed throughout its runtime dissected any of those themes. As an alternative, we get a jumbled-up story that tries to be a number of motion pictures on the identical time—and fails spectacularly in all of them.
The truth that Poker Face is directed, written, and starring Crowe (based mostly on a script by Stephen M. Coates) ought to counsel that the actor-turned-screenwriter-turned-director has management over most of what finally ends up on the display. Nonetheless, because the film progresses, it seems like both the script went via many fingers or Crowe has no thought in any respect of what he’s doing. The story facilities round Jake Foley (Crowe), a tech billionaire that decides to assemble his oldest associates for a high-stakes poker sport by which the winner takes house thousands and thousands of {dollars}. Nonetheless, the poker sport is interrupted when secrets and techniques resurface, revenge plots are unfolded, and thieves break into Jake’s home.
Simply by wanting on the film’s synopsis, you may get a way of what’s flawed with it. Is it a drama centered on poker video games? Is it a revenge film? Or perhaps a house invasion thriller? In fact, it could possibly be all of that and even be a genre-bending journey, however the issue is that Crowe does solely the naked minimal to attach the themes that his screenplay proposes. And there are a variety of them.
First, as a way to arrange the story’s core of friendships, it follows the principle characters as children and introduces two components for battle and drama which are by no means revisited: The well being of Michael’s (Liam Hemsworth) mom and his concern of heights. The scene additionally fails to ascertain how poker united them—they only sort of play it. On the identical time, the film expects us to purchase that they shaped such a powerful connection via the cardboard sport {that a} poker night time invitation is sufficient to summon all of them after they clearly drifted aside.
Jake, alternatively, barely will get an introduction within the flashback. Afterward, he goes via a philosophical journey crammed with motivational quotes. The story rushes via his emotional state simply to current a plot gadget that you may simply inform will function a deus ex machina in some unspecified time in the future. By the point the film actually kicks off, you discover {that a} third of it has passed by and but you shaped no reference to the characters in any respect.
However that’s positive, as a result of who wants character growth whenever you’ve obtained wheels? In certainly one of Poker Face’s most absurd moments, many of the important forged spends a while having a automobile chase that quantities to (you guessed it) nothing. The scene is simply as absurd as what comes subsequent: Totally conscious that certainly one of his greatest associates has a playing dependancy, Jake invitations him to…gamble. They begin a poker sport by which he may win or lose 5 million {dollars}. And keep in mind, it is a story that expects you to imagine Jake has his associates’ greatest pursuits in thoughts.
It’s additionally fairly irritating that Poker Face presents nearly no build-up to its poker sport scene, which is arguably its most necessary half. that every participant clearly needs the prize cash, however you definitely received’t know what goes on of their particular person storylines. So, you find yourself rooting for none of them, and the rushed sport, very like the remainder of the film, presents no thrills.
The very last thing the film has to supply is the house invasion section, which is as much as par with the remainder of the movie. The film establishes that the home has cameras all over the place—besides on the entrance, it appears. In an try and tie the story in with the primary flashback, an outdated rival is offered because the invader, however all of the film did beforehand to ascertain him as a villain was…displaying him stealing lunch cash. Because the housebreaking progresses, it turns into clear that neither criminals nor the screenwriter thought their plan via: They don’t know what they’re after, ignore clear indicators that the plan may go flawed, and don’t have any plan B and even escape plan. However that doesn’t matter, as a result of Poker Face solely makes use of its villains to construct some synthetic rigidity and wrap the story up with a twist you possibly can see coming miles and miles away.
This brings us again to the ultimate scene. Everyone knows that voice-over narration makes all the things appear extra significant, however Poker Face forgets that, as a way to create an emotional ending, it’s important to work in direction of it. We see zero scenes of the principle forged bonding. After they have their defining poker sport, it’s onerous to determine in the event that they love or hate one another. Jake’s relationship along with his daughter is superficial at greatest, and based mostly on what we see within the film, he’d relatively do the rest than spend time along with her. And but, the protagonist is widely known as somebody who’s had a huge effect on the lives of everybody concerned. He in all probability did, as the ultimate scene needs to indicate, however you received’t know what influence that was by watching this film.
Poker Face always tries to lift the wager and convey new components to the desk, however you shortly notice it’s all a bluff. It doesn’t know find out how to construct rigidity and anticipation and does no effort to work on its characters. It additionally doesn’t know find out how to convey an exhilarating poker sport, and after stumbling via utterly disposable plot factors, it tries to wrap its story up with life classes which are as generic because the film itself.
Ranking: C-
Poker Face is in theaters now and involves VOD on November 22.
