High Rollers

Even though i appreciate seeing brand new young actors on the big screen there is something special about iconic Hollywood actors. There are so many legendary actors we could mention and all of their classic films so let´s talk about some of them for a moment. Michael Douglas as an example who have not seen classics such as Romancing The Stone, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, Black Rain, Falling Down ( one of my personal favouite films with Michael Douglas ), The American President, Wonder Boys and so many other titles. Let us focus for one moment on one of his films that i feel everyone should see at some point and that is the 1997 psychological thriller The Game from director David Fincher. I can not tell you how many times i have watched this film over and over again ever since i watched this film in cinema back in the 90´s, i have watched this film in different formats such as VHS, DVD and on blu ray. This film tells the story of investment banker Nicholas Van Orton ( Michael Douglas ). A very rich man but is living unhappy and lonely, no matter how pretty his house is and have a home maid. He is still struggling with the suicide of his father who killed himself on his 48th birthday jumping of the roof of the family mansion. So Nicholas is not looking forward to his own birthday. However, on his birthday his younger brother Conrad ( Sean Penn ) suprise him with a special gift, a voucher for a "game" offered by a company called Consumer Recreation Services ( CRS ). Doubtful at first he decides to visit the CRS office. This is a very clever twisted psychological thriller with really good acting performances that should be seen on physical media. Another big Hollywood star who have been in so many classics is of course John Travolta. Who have not seen him in classics such as Carrie, Saturday Night Fever, Blow Out, Pulp Fiction, Face/Off, The Thin Red Line and of course the 2009 remake of The Taking Of Pelham 123. Last year he was in a heist action film called Cash Out and i have seen this film. It wasn´t anything special in this genre and i almost forgot about it, until i noticed that a sequel to this film have been released. I didn´t review Cash Out last year but i decided to review the sequel High Rollers anyway since i have not reviewed many heist films. Is this a perfect movie to enjoy this summer or is High Rollers even more forgettable than the first film Cash Out?

While Mason Goodad ( John Travolta ) and his partner Amelia Decker ( Gina Gershon ) and their friends attend the beach wedding ceremony of Link ( Natali Yura ), a boat suddenly explode out in the ocean. 2 helicopters with armed soldiers drop them off to take Amelia as a hostage. The kidnappers demand that Mason and his team pull off a casino heist owned by Zane Black ( Demián Castro ). Mason have no other option than to accept this mission.

If you have seen the 2001 heist comedy Ocean´s Eleven from director Steven Soderbergh you know this is one of the best heist films ever made. The casting of this film is brilliant with actors such as George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle, Elliott Gould and many others. What made Ocean´s Eleven work so well as a heist comedy was the characters of the heist and the heist itself was told in a very effective way. The other films in the Oceans Eleven franchise are enjoyable but the first film is definetely the best. High Rollers tries a similar path as Ocean´s Eleven since this film is also taking place in Las Vegas, where the gang from the first film Cash Out is told to do a heist in a famous casino. This could be a fun idea for a film if you know to make an effective heist action film. Unfortunately i have to say this is quite a boring heist film to be honest. The action scenes ( when they finally happen ) are not very exciting. This is pretty much a very basic heist film you find in High Rollers with no surpises at all. It would be one thing if this film had some charming moments during the heist operation and we could enjoy ourselves that way. This film does not have that either for the most part. To the positive i will say i enjoy the heist gang at least in certain scenes played by actors John Travolta, Lukas Haas, Quava, Natali Yura, Noel Gugliemi and Swen Temmel. In a way it is nice to see them all return in another film, too bad they could not get a much more fun mission to do. John Travolta does a very standard performance with no surprises. Nice at least to see actress Gina Gershon ( especially good in the 1999 drama The Insider with Al Pacino ) in a role as former FBI agent Amelia Decker. At the end of the day this is a very predictable heist film that is actually worse than Cash Out. Not the worst film in John Travolta´s career ( that would easily be Battlefield Earth ) but still a very forgettable heist film. Director Randall Emmet is making a third film with the same gang, i hope it will be much better than this one.

Rating: DD