Entertainment
Jason Statham’s Remake of a Burt Reynolds Action Thriller Surpassed the Original in Every Way
William Goldman’s 1985 novel Heat had the makings of a gritty crime thriller destined to be adapted for the big screen with its exploration of the moody life of a former mercenary-turned-bodyguard, plagued by a gambling addiction and a desire to flee Las Vegas. Goldman’s novel was adapted twice — first, in the 1986 thriller of the same name starring Burt Reynolds under the direction of Dick Richards, and then the 2015 version, called Wild Card, starring Jason Statham by director Simon West.
Reynolds and Statham share something in common: both are world-renowned for their likable charm and ability to handle their own stunts. Yet, where Statham has enjoyed positive collaborations on his films, Reynolds’ bruised ego in the latter half of his career often led to high-profile embarrassments. Neither adaptation of the Goldman novel enjoyed box-office success. However, the Statham version would ultimately become the better take.
What Is William Goldman’s ‘Heat’ About?
According to Sean Egan‘s book William Goldman: The Reluctant Storyteller, the original novel was inspired by the Oscar-winning writer’s distaste for the city of Las Vegas and the seedy means of making a living there. Reynolds’ Heat and Statham’s Wild Card are narrowed down to the Goldman book’s highlights: Las Vegas tough guy Nick “The Mex” Escalante (renamed “Nick Wild” in the Statham version) lives a lonely existence as a “chaperone” with dreams of raising enough money to flee away from Sin City to Venice, Italy. He often gambles in the casinos and takes small jobs to achieve his financial goals, such as allowing a lovelorn client to beat him up to impress a date. The action kicks into gear when Nick gets hired by a sex worker named Holly to get payback against young gangster Danny DeMarco and his thugs who viciously assaulted her. With special combat skills involving edged weapons, Nick succeeds in beating the thugs and allowing Holly to commit a cringe-worthy act on DeMarco’s family jewels.
In the key subplots, Nick gets hired to toughen up a meek rich man, Cyrus, who becomes his unlikely companion. Additionally, Nick seeks to take his earnings from Holly’s job to gamble at the blackjack table to raise enough money to flee to Venice. His luck runs out when he blows all the earnings on a single bet. As Nick finds another path out of Vegas thanks to Cyrus’ generosity, a vengeful DeMarco defies his mobster father “Baby” by hunting the ex-mercenary down.
‘Heat’ Was Burt Reynolds’ Failed Attempt at a Career Comeback
Reynolds saw the Goldman novel as an opportunity to resuscitate his fading movie star status. Recounting this period of his life in his memoir But Enough About Me, the megastar of the ’70s had a string of box office disappointments in the early ’80s and suffered a serious injury to his jaw on the set of City Heat co-starring Clint Eastwood. Additionally, the audience turning to new leading action stars of the day, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, caused the Smokey and the Bandit star to look like a relic of the past. After the failure of his 1985 crime-thriller Stick, Reynolds needed a significant makeover as an on-screen hero. No more fast cars and witty banter with his friend Dom Deluise. The ‘80s was all about men with more action and less talk. Reynolds had to recapture the gritty edge he displayed in his 1981 hit Sharky’s Machine.
On paper, the character of Nick had all the qualities that made Reynolds popular in his prime: masculine, loyal to friends, and a spark in his eye when it came to the ladies. Unfortunately, Heat’s production was troubled right from the start, beginning with director Robert Altman being involved. According to Patrick McGilligan‘s book, Robert Altman: Jumping Off the Cliff – A Biography of the Great American Director, the acclaimed filmmaker behind M*A*S*H dropped out when Goldman refused to change the screenplay adaptation of his novel. Richards took over based on his past collaboration with producer Elliott Kasner on the adaptation of Raymond Chandler‘s Farewell, My Lovely. Reynolds reveals in his memoir that he did not get along with the new director, resulting in a physical altercation that led to a years-long lawsuit. Between Reynolds’ fading star power and the behind-the-scenes creative issues, Heat was nowhere near the intense street-level thriller Goldman described in the novel. Barely released to theaters in 1986, Heat became an infamous footnote in Reynolds’ historic filmmography.
Jason Statham’s Brutality Is on Full Display in ‘Wild Card’
When Wild Card was made decades later, the film was tailored to the British action star known for his proficient martial arts skills and charming wit. Yet, it went as far as faithfully adapting the original screenplay that Goldman wrote before it was altered in production. The story beats remained mostly the same as Heat but with one key difference: Statham is more believable as a prime badass in every scene than the aging, tired-looking Reynolds. Reynolds’ performance in Heat mirrored the state of his career in 1986. Instead of relying heavily on executing big stunts and Southern charm, he plays Nick like a burned out warrior exhausted by the thrills. Though the film leans heavily on Reynolds’ attempt at giving a realistic performance, he ends up losing his signature charisma in the process. Statham, however, is far more action-driven while playing a man wanting out of a violent world.
‘Wild Card’s Director Had Previously Worked With Jason Statham
Unlike the Reynolds/Richards feud, Statham and West already had a positive working relationship with The Expendables 2 and The Mechanic. With both men having a depth of experience in action, the fight sequences have a greater intensity, closer to Statham’s Crank movies, than the ‘70s-looking approach that Heat took on. One clear-cut example is the scene of Nick using edged items against DeMarco’s thugs. Heat relies on slow-motion shots and quick cuts of Reynolds striking at the camera to hide his physical limitations with age. Wild Card’s version, however, goes even further in cranking the motion of the shots, similar to The Matrix’s bullet-time technique, for the audience to get the full effect of Nick’s brutality.
Wild Card’s more cohesive actor/director partnership goes beyond what’s on the screen. Director West, who replaced Brian De Palma on the project, had a better collaboration with Goldman than the filmmakers of the 1986 film. Recalling an early conversation with Goldman in an interview with Den of Geek, West’s direction of Statham for nearly every scene in Wild Card is driven by the writer’s description of Nick as the most dangerous man in Vegas “even when he’s not doing anything, everybody in the room knows that, and everybody knows his history, what he’s capable of. And so, he ultimately, doesn’t have to do that much, because he is the toughest guy in Vegas.” With that description in mind, the character of Nick was the perfect embodiment of the no-nonsense Statham as opposed to the remorseful Reynolds.
‘Wild Card’s Cast Elevates the Jason Statham Action Movie
Another aspect of Wild Card that makes it a superior film to Heat is its supporting cast. Though Heat enjoyed fine performances from Karen Young and Diana Scarwid, the rest of the cast, including WKRP in Cincinnati‘s Howard Hesseman, appeared as if they were only there to collect a paycheck. Statham, however, has been fortunate enough to surround himself with bigger stars, whether it is The Expendables, Parker, or The Beekeeper. The performances in Wild Card shine with high-caliber talents breathing life into Goldman’s street-level characters, including Milo Ventimiglia as DeMarco, Hope Davis as Nick’s card dealer friend Cassandra, Jason Alexander as Nick’s pal Pinky, and Stanley Tucci as Baby.
The standout of Wild Card’s ensemble is Michael Angarano as Cyrus, originally played by Peter MacNichol in Heat. The former’s take on the self-made millionaire has a strong apprentice characteristic next to Nick akin to Ben Foster’s role opposite Statham in The Mechanic. The ability of Angarano’s Cyrus to hold his own to Statham’s Nick is much stronger than MacNichol softening Heat’s gritty tone by playing the role as Reynolds’ latest comedic sidekick.
Wild Card did not do strong enough business in theaters to warrant a new franchise for Statham, as Heat failed to stop Reynolds’s box office slide. Yet, the differences in both films’ stars and the behind-the-scenes atmosphere made a huge difference in the overall quality. While Heat became an infamous chapter in Reynolds’ long career, Statham’s performance of Wild Card only added to his credibility as a legit modern-day action star, appearing in recent popular films like A Working Man and The Beekeeper.
- Release Date
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January 14, 2015
- Runtime
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92 Minutes
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