WHAT’S IT ABOUT

An expert thief rolls out the biggest heist of his life in Play Dirty, an action-packed thriller from director Shane Black. Parker (Mark Wahlberg), along with Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield), Zen (Rosa Salazar) and a skilled crew, stumble onto a score that pits them against the New York mob in this gritty, clever caper.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

Shane Black’s newest action movie startles us right into bedlam, which is to say, for the next hour and a half, the chaos never recedes. Mark Wahlberg plays Parker, a professional thief meant to be both unflappable and utterly serious, yet the film around him seems more animated compared to him. Not that it is a bad thing, just odd to think of. We see this set up early as Parker and his crew rob a horse racing track, and things go poorly very quickly. The job gets out of hand fast with people and bodies flying, cars racing through the middle of an actual horse race, and people being shot left and right. It’s the kind of opening that gives you a physical shove to the throat to wake up. Then we meet Zen, played by Rosa Salazar, who strips down to her underwear, pulls out a gun, and murders basically everybody except Parker. Right there, you know this movie isn’t playing around with who lives and who dies. Here’s the thing about Parker as a character—he’s been around since 1962 in Richard Stark’s crime novels, and he’s not supposed to be likable. High-profile actors such as Lee Marvin, Robert Duvall, Mel Gibson, and Jason Statham have all given their shot at playing the character. Wahlberg’s version fits perfectly with his typical persona of a tough guy–which is fine, but doesn’t really require the acting range from him. He is, effectively, doing the same thing he does in those action films he’s been in, but with a lot more swearing, as he recalls. He plays Parker super straight and serious, almost boring, compared to everyone else having a blast around him. The real star of this show? LaKeith Stanfield as Grofield. This dude steals every single scene he’s in. Grofield used to be a criminal, but now he is pursuing his dream of becoming a stage actor. He only commits crime to keep his struggling theater afloat, even if no one attends his productions. Stanfield exports this strange energy where he is utterly relaxed in one beat and completely unhinged the next. He throws himself into whatever disguise or role he needs for the heist like he’s auditioning for Broadway. The movie honestly should’ve focused way more on him because watching Grofield bounce off Parker’s stone-faced personality makes you wish this was more of a buddy comedy than it actually is. After Zen betrays him, Parker tracks her down pretty quickly—maybe too quickly, if we’re being real. He decides to assist her with an even larger and worse job than killing her for the act of slaughtering his entire crew: to rob an ancient treasure known as the Lady of Arintero, a golden statue from some Spanish ship that sank to the bottom centuries ago. The catch: it is being held by The Outfit, a powerful crime organization run by Lozini (Tony Shalhoub). Lozini already kicked Parker out of New York, so getting a chance to rob him while also scoring big money? Parker’s all in, even if it means putting revenge on hold. Tony Shalhoub clearly has fun playing the villain, chewing up every scene with this cranky, corporate crime boss energy. The supporting cast includes Keegan-Michael Key and Claire Lovering as this married couple who love disguises way too much, and Nat Wolff as one of Lozini’s scared workers who knows he’s probably gonna die. There’s also Chukwudi Iwuji playing some rich jerk who wants to buy the treasure. Everybody brings something to the table, but none of them get enough screen time to really matter, except Stanfield. Now let’s talk about where this movie trips over itself. Shane Black wrote the script with Chuck Mondry and Anthony Bagarozzi, and somewhere along the way, they forgot that simpler is sometimes better. The story becomes so convoluted due to the multitude of characters and plot lines that you lose focus on whether anything is actually transpiring. The alleged theft of treasure is also meant to save Zen’s country from some dictator? Simultaneously, Mob characters and a United Nations robbery? There seems to be at least three movie scripts happening at once. You feel as if multiple movie ideas have collided, hoping something would work. Black knows how to write snappy dialogue, the quick back-and-forth between characters hits hard when it lands. One moment has Keegan-Michael Key talking about how fast a subway train is going, and his partner just tells him to stop saying “miles per hour” out loud. It’s funny in this throwaway style that Black does well. But clever one-liners can’t fix a story that doesn’t make sense. The movie wants to be Ocean’s Eleven mixed with Indiana Jones mixed with some classic noir film, and it just can’t pull off all three at once. What saves Play Dirty from completely falling apart is how it refuses to protect anyone. People die suddenly and violently throughout, including characters you expect to stick around. There are some people thrown from a building, some people shot without notice, and the body count rises to the level that you become almost numb to it. That Jackass unpredictability makes it exciting. There’s even a scene in which they kill Mark Cuban, who plays himself. The movie does not adhere to the conventions of a film, making it more interesting than streaming action films generally. The action setpieces deliver when they need to. That horse track chase at the beginning? Absolutely bonkers—cars avoid horses and jockeys launched from the horses—like a fever dream. At one point, there is a scene involving a speeding cargo train that must be derailed at just the right time. Alan Silvestri’s jazzy music adds some class to all the mayhem, even if it can’t elevate the messy plot. At over two hours long, the movie definitely feels its length. It even opens with an extended title sequence that seems like it’s trying to replicate the Bond franchise, as if this is a setup for Amazon and MGM to kick off a whole franchise for Mark Wahlberg.  Wahlberg could probably do more of these if the public wants it, especially if Stanfield comes back.  Their chemistry works, even if the story sometimes does not back it up. Black’s previous films, like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys, showed he could balance comedy and action with actual style. Play Dirty feels messier than those, more interested in being a big tentpole action movie when it should’ve stayed a smaller, tighter heist thriller. Still, it’s way better than most streaming action films that feel completely disposable. Prime Video seems to be cornering the market on these mid-budget action flicks, and Play Dirty stands out from that pack because it’s willing to go darker and weirder than expected. Is this a great movie? Nah. Is it fun despite its problems? Absolutely. If you like watching Wahlberg do his usual tough-guy thing while people crack jokes and shoot each other during Christmas (because yes, it’s another action movie set during the holidays), you’ll have a good time. Just don’t think too hard about why anything is happening, and you’ll enjoy the ride. Play Dirty succeeds as dumb fun that’s self-aware enough to know exactly what it is. It needed a tighter script and more focus on its best characters, but the action hits hard and the kills come unexpectedly enough to keep you watching. Shane Black hasn’t lost his touch completely, he just needs to remember that sometimes less is more.

OUR RATING – A RETRO-LIKE 6.5