The Card Player (2003) User Reviews

Better than expected

[jhs39 · 6/10 · 17 August 2004]

Dario Argento's new thriller about a serial killer who forces the police to play video poker against him in order to save the lives of women he has kidnapped doesn't rank with the director's best work, but it is fast paced and entertaining if you aren't expecting too much.

After the disastrous Phanton of the Opera Argento made Sleepless, which was a self-conscious attempt to duplicate the success of his 1970's giallos, down to giving long defunct group Goblin credit for the soundtrack. Sleepless was certainly watchable, but it felt more like an Argento rip-off by an inferior director rather than the real thing, like the master had somehow turned into Antonio Bido or Luigi Cosi.

This time around Argento makes a movie that is less obviously grounded in his own previous success--The Card Player is far more generic than Sleepless, but since Argento isn't trying so hard to recapture past magic the film tends to work much better.

Unfortunately plotting and characterization have always been his achilles heel. Classic Argento films are about set-pieces and style, not plot. Stendhal Syndrome suffered because it turned into a character driven psychological thriller, which didn't play to his strengths as a filmmaker. The Card Player is largely plot-driven, lacking the stylistic flourishes and memorable set-pieces that defined his classic films and also offset his weaknesses as a writer. The Card Player generally feels like a made for TV crime thriller or even a pilot for a potential television show.

But while The Card Player isn't great or even mildly believable it is pretty fun on a cheesy B movie level, and the finale involving a handcuff key, a racing train and a lap-top manages to capture the delirious goofiness that came easily to the director back when he made Phenomena and Deep Red. It's not hard to imagine Argento giggling when he came up with his climactic scene and the sense of fun is infectious.

Most fans have probably accepted by now that Dario Argento isn't the filmmaker he was twenty years ago and that he will likely never make another classic thriller, but The Card Player is at least good enough not to disappoint, given the lowered expectations that now inevitably greet one of his movies. For me this was easily his best since Trauma. It also offers reason for optimism: Sleepless was a huge improvement over Phantom of the Opera and The Card Player is better than Sleepless, giving fans a reason to look forward to his next film.

A different Argento, to be sure, but that's not bad Argento!

[jangu · 6/10 · 2 April 2004]

I have read the reviews complaining about that Dario has abandoned his style and all the gore to produce a tame TV-thriller. Far from the truth, according to me! I really think that this is the best he has done since "Opera". Granted, his stylish touch might seem to be muted compared to the baroque thriller of the 70s and 80s, but this cold and bleak atmosphere that he conjures up this time along with very brightly lit camera-work for most of the scenes, is something I enjoyed throughout! Sure, the gore is almost totally absent (apart from one scene), but as a whole this picture is much more efficiently done. The pace is fluent and unlike most of his other movies, there is actually no point where the characters just stand around and talk (and sometimes his players have been involved in some truly atrocious conversation) to fill out the time.

*MINOR SPOILER* And in "Il cartaio" the three main actors are actually very good! They are people you can care about and when they are in danger or die, you feel sorry for them. *END OF SPOILER* Like I mentioned before, I enjoyed the bleak look of the movie...as always classy camera-work in every frame of an Argento picture! And Claudio Simonetti's score is his best in years even though you might be just a little bit tired of it by the time the movie reaches it's conclusion. And talking about the finale, I found it both interesting, but at the same time also maybe a little bit of a letdown. However, the endings have been a bit weak lately in Dario's films. Not since "Tenebrae" has there been a really powerful conclusion. And two minor complaints finally...it was too easy to guess who the killer was. This has been mentioned before and I think it is true. The killer's identity could have been better camouflaged without a "certain scene" (you will know which one). And the card scenes went on too long on two occasions. The constant screaming from the victims became annoying in these scenes and I almost wanted them to die just to make them shut up! Otherwise, his best work in years and a film where he is not just content with repeating an old formula (like in "Sleepless" which I liked anyhow), but is actually trying to find a whole new path in his art.

Yeah, it's alright....

[Pet_Rock · 6/10 · 16 August 2006]

Of course it's not Dario's best, but it's not his worst. I give it a 5.5, leaning more on the 6 side.

Anna Mari (Taras Kostyuk) is a policewoman working with an Irish policeman (Liam Cunningham) and a young poker champ (Silvio Muccino) to catch a killer who kills his young female victims if the police loose a game of video poker.

This movie seems like an okay mix of "Silence of the Lambs", "Saw 2", and "CSI".

The music, like in all of Darios films, is great. The look of the dead bodies are also fantastic and spooky.

However, Phoebe Scholfield and Jay Benedict (both first time writers) did a horrible job of the dialogue. In fact, I didn't like most of the writing. It was confusing at times but as long as you don't think too deep into it, you can enjoy this as a neat little screaming-and-crying-girl flick with great special effects and so-so kills. They're so-so because most of them are offscreen and similar, but towards the end they get great and unique.

So you could easily enjoy this if you just want to pass the time, but don't expect another Argento classic.

A bit disappointing

[prod74 · 26 July 2004]

What can I say about this film? It certainly is not a typical Argento film (and I mean that in a very broad sense - there are some things you expect from an Argento film, like gore, tension and a certain visual style), but is it really bad? Well, it's not a terrible movie but from the man that gave us Suspiria, Deep Red and Tenebrae I expected much more.

First of all it's not giallo but more of a run of the mill detective story. Now, this wouldn't be bad if it was a good detective story, but it's not. The identity of the killer was predictable and some parts of the story did not make any sense. On top of that, the acting was not very good and the music was at best tolerable. And the final scene was just bad and did not make much sense.

The only good things about the movie were some great shots of Rome, and a couple of good, powerful scenes (like the first 2 murders) that reminded me a little of Argento's better films.

It's not a very bad movie, it's just a mediocre one. But since it's an Argento movie I expected much more. I give it 5 out of 10.

B-Movie Argento, but highly watchable.

[lastliberal · 5/10 · 8 September 2008]

One of the the great things about giallo is the blood and nudity. The serial killer takes the time to undress his victim before tossing her in the water, so we get to see everything.

A little Saw and a little "CSI"/"Criminal Minds"; this film features a new gimmick. We'll play cards for the life of a girl.

As the game progresses, the killer ups the ante by capturing the Police Commissioner's daughter and forcing the police to play for her life.

As the police close in on the Card Player, he manages to get Anna Mari in his clutches and forces her to play a game for her life. It was something of a silly ending.

THE CARD PLAYER (Dario Argento, 2004) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 5/10 · 6 May 2006]

I was among those who felt that Argento lost his touch after TENEBRAE (1982), and that his output during the last 20 years or so was just a pale shadow of his best work (with the truly lamentable 1998 version of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA being the worst of all). While all these films contained some interesting elements, they failed to jell into a satisfying whole; the same, therefore, can be said of his latest offering.

THE CARD PLAYER was originally intended as a sequel to THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996), which had starred the director's talented daughter Asia: however, in the interim she had turned her attention to directing small, personal films and at the time of the proposed shooting was staying in the U.S.; so, the lead character's name and background had to be slightly changed to accommodate a new actress – Stefania Rocca. Unfortunately, the days when Argento's unique visual style was alone worth the price of admission are long gone and, despite a few distinct touches here and there (with the best sequence being when Rocca is stalked at night by the killer in her own house), THE CARD PLAYER looks – and feels – distressingly like the typical made-for-TV movie that fills up the tube's schedule in Italy virtually every week (the fact that the film is considerably less gory than his earlier stuff, with the majority of the murders taking place off-screen, or that none of the cast members other than Rocca herself are well-known, let alone overseas, only adds to this impression)! At least, regular collaborators Claudio Simonetti (music score) and Sergio Stivaletti (make-up effects) are on hand to offer their consistently reliable input…

Anyway, the cat-and-mouse thriller plot (once one gets over the silly premise that the Police would accept the challenge of a poker game with the killer, even if the prize is the life of a hostage) is intriguing and compelling enough for the most part – but characterization is alarmingly shoddy (despite its attempt to create a romantic situation between Rocca and Liam Cunningham, the latter sent by the British Embassy in Rome to investigate the murders), while the eventual revelation and subsequent climax involving a speeding train are quite a disappointment (though, from what little I recall of Argento's later work, at least OPERA [1987] and SLEEPLESS [2001] were also given lame endings)!

And I had such high hopes for this one

[bensonmum2 · 5/10 · 25 August 2005]

A deranged serial killer wants to play a game of internet poker with the police. But the stakes are very high. If the police win, the woman he has kidnapped goes free. If the killer wins, the captive dies. It's up to an Italian policewoman and an Irish agent to stop this high-tech killer before anymore young women die.

What Works:

• Set pieces. I have seen even the most ardent Argento critics admit that the worst of his movies have some nice set pieces. Argento's problem has always been stringing these set pieces together into a coherent story. While I could cite several examples, one set piece in The Card Player that really stands out is the scene where the killer is hiding in the policewoman's house. It's suspenseful and very nicely done.

• Nasty deaths. Although most of the actual scenes of murder take place off screen, we are treated to the nasty aftermath. The scenes of the police poking the murdered bodies in the morgue are as gruesome as you'll see. Especially when one of the bodies "fights" back. Eeeewwww.

• Acting. The two leads (Stefania Rocca and Liam Cunningham) are excellent. Both came across as believable and sometimes that's all you need. Plus, the chemistry between the two was very good. I could actually see the two of them together as a couple. It wasn't forced as is so often the case.

What Doesn't Work:

• Contrived Plot. Too often, The Card Player relies on the most unrealistic coincidences to advance the plot. It's as if the planets line-up just right for the killer to do and get away with the things he does. For example, in one scene, the killer uses a woman to lure a poker expert into a trap. The problem is that the man must follow the woman over what seems like half of Italy until he arrives at just the right spot before the killer springs into action. How does the killer know the poker guy will follow the woman that far? What if he tires of the chase and calls it quits? What if he meets another woman and goes with her? It felt too contrived to me to be believable.

• Acting. As good as the two leads are, much of the rest of the cast is terrible. I don't know if it's more a function of poor dubbing than it is actual acting ability, but the supporting cast doesn't come across very well. Some of the police captain's top assistants are about as convincing as the Three Stooges (not to mention they come across like the Three Stooges).

• The Poker Expert. The police captain's daughter has been kidnapped and could very well be the next victim. The police desperately need a poker expert to increase their odds of winning the game of online poker. Do they turn to a well-known, renowned poker player? Do they turn to a mathematician to assist in determining probabilities in poker? Heck, do they even seek out an someone with half a brain? The answer: No! Instead, the police put the fate of the kidnapped women in the hands of a brainless punk who plays video poker for pocket change.

Argento's The Card Player is a real hit or miss proposal. While Argento again shows his skill with set pieces and is blessed with some good acting, there are too many plot points that don't make much sense or are too far-fetched for me to rate The Card Player any higher.

Not as bad as people say

[whiggles · 7/10 · 22 January 2004]

After getting almost unanimously negative reviews, I was dreading watching IL CARTAIO. It turns out that the film is not bad at all. No, it's not another SUSPIRIA, but nor is it a PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, thankfully. People keep going on about the absence of Argento's trademark style. Well, I want to know what style that would be? Suspiria's? Phenomena's? The Stendhal Syndrome's? I think you get my point. Argento doesn't have one single style -- he had many, and I think that Il Cartaio's style is different rather than absent. I personally liked the camerawork and the cold look of the film. The use of shadow is really good, and I think this has got to be the only film Argento has done that is obviously set in the winter. It gave everything an eery look.

It's a tightly constructed little thriller with a lot of very tense set-piece scenes. The lack of gore confused me a bit, but everyone seems to forget the impalement of a certain character. That, to me, was pretty gory although admittedly not flamboyant. In many ways it seems a lot like the antithesis of Non Ho Sonno, which was extremely over the top in terms of violence.

I think Tenebre was the last film Argento did that received almost unanimous critical acclaim on its initial release. All of his other triumphs since then have grown on people over the years. I don't think Il Cartaio will be any different.

Good one

[Gunnar_Runar_Ingibjargarson · 5/10 · 18 June 2008]

The Card Player' directed and co-authored by leading Italian filmmaker, Dario Argento is quite different from what I expected, based on Argento'' reputation based on his best known film, the horror classic, 'Suspiria' of about 20 years ago. This movie is much less Wes Craven and much more Alfred Hitchcock, although I think Argento does not quite measure up to the Great Hitchcock in his use of subtlety and surprise, although there are a few good surprises in this film.

While this movie was made by a thoroughly Italian cast and crew, except for Irish actor, Liam Cunningham, almost all the original dialog as we hear it in the film was spoken in English as it was filmed. Mistaking this for a horror film was easy based on the cover art and some of the blurbs on the package. And, these hints are not entirely misleading, as there is a fair amount of intentional horror based on a fairly extended threat of death to a victim seemingly unable to free herself from the situation, unlike Hitchcock's secret threat, suddenly sprung on the unsuspecting victim as in 'Psycho'.

The mechanics and most business of the story are ultramodern. The victims are kidnapped, bound, and gagged (albeit a bit amateurishly), and the prep sends an e-mail to a female police detective that in order to free the Vic, the police will need to have someone play computer poker with the prep, freeing the Vic by winning two out of three hands. The first victim is a British tourist, bringing the Irish detective attached to the UK consulate in Rome into the case. And, this detective happens to be a forensics expert, so a lot of his early investigations are straight out of the 'CSI' casebook. Although, none are so modern that you couldn't see almost the identical business in a movie made 50 years ago, just as you see them in the murder / suicide investigation scene in Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita'.

Not only is the plot much more a thriller than a horror show, but the quality of the acting, directing, and camera work is high as well. Unfortunately, I feel the writing, in the implausibility of many plot turns, is just a bit too weak. While Argento may be one of the best known Italian filmmakers working today, his scripts fall far short of the great plot and dialog of Fellini and Bertolucci.

One of the very first weaknesses is in the way the police failed to play the contact with the prep. Given the chance to bring in an expert poker player to play the hands, that task falls wholly nilly to the female detective who is not only a poor poker player, but has a monkey on her back about gambling and poker, as her father committed suicide after a failure at cards. For the second kidnapping, the police happen upon a detective who knows something about poker, but who fails nonetheless. Only with the third victim do the police enlist the assistance of an expert computer poker player, who succeeds in effecting the release of the victim.

Explaining more implausibilities starts to give away some of the better parts of the plot, so I will stop there and note that this DVD has my very favorite feature, an audio commentary running the entire length of the film. The commentary is by the cinematic author, Alan Jones rather than by the director or his co-author or producer, but it's pretty good. Since, as the commentator notes, Argento does not film in any of the well-known tourist locations (except for a brief glimpse of the Pantheon and a scene in the Tiber), but in the 'real' bourgeois' Rome. So, commentator Jones gives us an orientation for where we are in Rome and on the events which help us understand the plot. He also points out the virtually total absence of blood in the film, which was a conscious decision by the director, since so many of his other films are so singularly bloody.

Not great Argento but not awful

[lilac_point_burmese · 6/10 · 25 October 2005]

This movie deserves a bit more credit - it is not the best Argento film but it is certainly better than Phantom of the Opera. I think the main complaint that an Argento fan could have about this film is it is very un-Argento - it feels a bit more like a gory Ruth Rendell. However the plot is quite tight, the poker playing serial killer is a new concept that I quite appreciated, the main actress I thought was excellent, she reminded me a lot of Franka Potente. Definitely give this one a watch, its not the usual Argento style but it is still a good thriller. Do not watch this one if you are not a fan of Agatha Christie/Ruth Rendell/Inspector Morse and are expecting Argento's usual slightly bizarre edge - this is a pretty ordinary "detective trying to catch serial killer" flick.

A perfunctory, half-baked TV episode.

[don138 · 1/10 · 12 March 2004]

Without a shadow of a doubt, this is the worst Dario Argento movie of all, even beating such stilted offerings as "The Stendhal Syndrome" and "The Phantom of the Opera". Claiming to modernize the giallo, Argento has reduced this once great genre to a bad - and utterly laughable - episode of a TV cop show. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING works. Here is a brief summary of the film's MANY faults: 1) The dialogue is embarrassingly bad: for example, at the end of the film, the heroine fires a gun and someone in the distance asks, "Signorina, tutto va bene?" ("Is everything ok, miss?"). 2) The photography has that flat, ugly look that German police serials seem to specialize in. 3) Simonetti's bargain basement Euro-House score is annoying in the extreme. 4) The acting is ATROCIOUS from all concerned. Even the usually reliable Claudio Santamaria comes out of this film badly, but given the material the actors had to work with, it's no surprise. 5) The killer's identity is blindingly obvious from the opening minutes of the film. 6)The effects are particularly unconvincing (and there's none of Argento's trademark stylized violence). 7) There is a COMPLETE LACK of tension and suspense.

No one expects Argento to rehash "Deep Red" or "Tenebrae" in continuation, but his films used to be special events. His fans (and I've been a staunch supporter for years) expect more than a perfunctory, half-baked TV episode.

Show Your Hand.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 8/10 · 13 July 2015]

March 2015:

With a poll coming up on IMDbs classic Film board for the best titles of 2004,I decided to watch auteur film maker Dario Argento's 2004 Giallo. Despite having recently gotten a brand new DVD player,the machine kept jamming up 20 minutes into the flick,which eventually led to me giving up on Dario's poker,and instead watching Eros Puglielli's tense 2004 Giallo Eyes of Crystals (also reviewed.)

July 2015:

Since having recently picked up an cheap back-up DVD player, (which came with no remote,and only has a play/pause button!)I felt that it was the perfect time to go back to the table,to finally play a round with the card player.

View on the film:

Originally planned as a sequel to The Stendhal Syndrome (1996-also reviewed), (which got stopped when Asia Argento decided to leave Italy for Hollywood)the screenplay by co-writer/(along with Jay Benedict/Phoebe Scholfield & Franco Ferrini) directing auteur Dario Argento got dealt a number of bad hands which led to the ending being changed 3 times,and the cast largely improvising the dialogue.

Despite everything being stacked against it,the writers are still able to deliver a gripping Giallo,with the dial-up internet (aww..the bad old days!) poker games create a tense atmosphere,as each turn of the cards switches the advantage between Mari & the killer.

Whilst the more improvise nature sadly leads to the clues to the identity of the murderer mostly feeling like a last minute addition,the writers deliver aces high set pieces which strike an excellent techno-Giallo mood,which goes from the main clue allowing Argento to return to the theme of people being connected to nature,to a delightfully bonkers Silent movie-style railroad track final.

Interestingly keeping lush colours solely shown in the garden of the killers secret location,Argento & cinematographer Benoît Debie attack the Giallo with a brittle Film Noir hue,by completely draining any colours and covering the title in a decaying grunge of grays and browns,which perfectly expresses the bleak disconnection that the cops have to the on-screen victims.

Contrasting the tar-pit look of the movie,Argento slides across the poker table with rapid tracking shots kept in to the beat of Claudio Simonetti's electronic score,which along with allowing Argento to show ever corner of the burnt out city,also allows Dario to deliver ever twist in the cards with a real precision,as Mari tries to find the killers royal flush.

Okay just doesn't take any risks

[acidburn-10 · 6/10 · 17 June 2015]

I'm a big fan of Dario Argento's work; his early works are true works of perfection and have seen most of his stuff and mostly his work do strikes many of emotions such as thrills, tension and brilliant over the top death scenes. But after during the late 90's to present most of his stuff have been hit and miss, and this one from reading the reviews have been classed as a miss. But In my opinion I actually rather enjoyed this effort from him, sure it doesn't have almost none of his trademark technique's. But on its own it does stand as an okay murder mystery.

Firstly the plot is a very interesting and intriguing one, we get the old serial killer playing cat and mouse with the police routine, and in this case we get a killer setting up an online poker game with the police force, while using an innocent woman as bait and if they lose, she dies. This does make for a very interesting story line and it does keep the viewer interested in seeing what happens, and I did feel for these victims in that situation, but the fact that nothing is shown, doesn't leave a lasting impression, as nothing is shown afterwards and kind of makes the outcome disappointing.

Plus it lacks the stunning visuals that Argento's normally provides, instead the look and feel of the movie, looks very standard, and more towards the mainstream side of things. But the two leads are very decent, Stefania Rocca as Anna was a very strong leading character, she does keep you interested and has a good presence on screen even with the bad dialogue, and Liam Cunningham makes for another good character as her partner John and even their forcibly written romantic subplot, they makes it believable and they do share great chemistry together, along with the both of them fighting their demons does anchor the story along at a nice pace. Also Slivio Muccino was another good addition as the computer wiz kid, he was just brilliant. But the other side characters were just forgettable and were just poorly written.

But some of the other aspects of this movie doesn't really work, like the whodunit mystery in which this movie very much relies on, wasn't really inventive or shocking, and the final climax was just very predictable and just plodded along, and even the motive or lack of and honestly had a hard time remembering who he was at the end and just seemed lacking and lazy, but the overacting at the end was rather fun.

All in all "The Card Player" is an okay serial killer mystery flick, but for fans of Dario's visual style, you will be sorely disappointed, as this just doesn't take any risks at all and feels just rather safe and plodding.

Awful

[VanRippestein · 1/10 · 12 August 2007]

My girlfriend and i rented this film to have an entertaining night. Some kind of cheesy horror flick, we thought. The name Argento sounded familiar to me, i've not seen any of his films, so i thought we did OK by renting this.

After 5 minutes of watching we already knew that this was a mistake: the acting looked horrible and for some reason unknown to me, the film was dubbed. The dubbing is one of the baddest examples of dubbing i've ever seen. The dubbed sound isn't mixed or properly taken care of.

Later on we found out that the dubbing and acting aren't the only bad things about this film: the plot looks like it's been written by someone on drugs. There are SO many plot holes that all actions lose their function. Besides that, clearly no one bothered to do some research on police departments, poker games, or any other aspect displayed in this film. Therefore this film is an insult to anything the film shows.

Baddest of all is the music. any kind of tension or other mood is completely ruined by the dominant soundtrack of the film. I'm sure that EVERYONE who ever made music on his PC could have made something better.

besides that i expected gore, but this movie could be PG13.

This Argento dude is a filmmaker from who i hope never to see a film again. a I'm sure that if you make a film yourself, it'll be better.

Worst Argento ever

[pumaye · 3/10 · 19 January 2004]

After "Non ho sonno" I hoped that Argento career could be again at a positive rising point, but after seeing this mess I'm sure that I was really wrong: bad acting, derivative and insane plot, terrible dubbing (yes, this Italian movie was shot in English and dubbed in Italian with terrible results), not a single moment of tension from the genius of giallo during the Seventies; like Stendhal's Syndrome, we have another time a policewoman at the helm of the story (the beautiful and normally good actress Stefania Rocca, here in one of her worst performances of her career) and the result is a confused story, with a not single spark of brilliance in devolpment of the character or of the motivations of the maniac. Do not watch this movie: preserve your remembrances of a director that once was really the best, but now should be forced to retire

Argento has hit rock bottom, really embarrassing

[Camera-Obscura · 25 November 2006]

THE CARD PLAYER (Dario Argento - Italy 2004).

It starts out pretty good. To get you in the right mood, the accompanying music for the DVD menu is the unforgettable tune of "Suspiria." (!)

No interesting soundtrack in this film though. Sadly, within the first twenty minutes it becomes clear this film has absolutely nothing on offer. There's a paper thin premise of an internet killer who likes to play card games online with the police with his victims on screen through a webcam. When he loses he lets them go. Off course, he never loses, so a teenage boy is called in, who is some genius at card games, and they play a few more times. The acting already sunk to sub-zero levels, but this boy really was the worst "actor" I've ever seen. How did he end up in this one? A cousin of Argento?

Now, we don't watch Argento movies for interesting story telling but this mongrel of a movie is just incredibly dull. The average TV-movie in Belarus looks better than this film, with Argento's panache in visuals, cinematography or stylish executions completely lacking. It's hard to believe this is the same director who made small masterpieces like "Deep Red" and "Suspiria."

A real shame to see this from a man his caliber. There is absolutely nothing of merit in this film. Forget about this one.

Camera Obscura --- 1/10

Another dud from Dario

[burrobaggy · 4/10 · 26 June 2005]

It's sad when influential talents go off the boil, but everything Argento has done since Tenbrae seems to have shown all the signs of a filmmaker who has lost interest but still has bills to pay. On the good side this is nowhere near as bad as Phantom of the Opera or Phenomena. Nor is it as mediocre as The Stendahl Syndrome or Trauma - it just aspires to be that mediocre.

Sleepless might have been a minor comeback - silly but with good set-pieces - but any ground gained is immediately lost with this tepid misfire. Low on gore, low on style, low on character, it's really just an outline for a movie that he hasn't bothered to fill in. Psycho killer kidnaps women and forces female cop with issues to play internet poker for their lives. Fill in the blanks film-making ensues, very dull for the first 80 minutes, almost interesting in the last twenty. But you don't need to see this film. It won't offend, it'll just bore.

Devolving

[petra_ste · 4/10 · 20 June 2007]

Is this director *really* the same Dario Argento who made creepy, stylish movies like Profondo Rosso and Suspiria? After watching Il Cartaio, it's difficult to believe it.

A serial killer kidnaps young women and challenges the police to video poker games on the internet; if he wins, he kills the victim. Cops Anna (Silvia Rocca) and John (Liam Cunningham) try to stop the murderer with the help of young poker player Remo (Silvio Muccino).

Il Cartaio is cheap, dull, badly acted. Silvia Rocca is an attractive woman and usually also a decent actress, but her performance here is awful. In some scenes she is stiff, in others she overacts, then she occasionally seems to forget her character and acts like a chirpy schoolteacher. Cunningham is a solid actor and passes through this silliness more or less unscathed.

Muccino is typically awful, mumbling every line with the delivery of a chimp munching peanuts. However, when he is on-screen Il Cartaio is suddenly a hundred times funnier and, since the movie works better as a comedy, this is a good thing.

Surprisingly, visuals are weak, tension lacking: again, if you watch Profondo Rosso - which oozed an oppressive sense of menace - and then this, it seems impossible it's the work of the same director, even years later. It's as if Brian De Palma made I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

4/10

Not the best, not the worst...

[markovd111 · 6/10 · 6 August 2021]

It's a nice thriller for a veteran of the genre. Premise is interesting and there are some nice cheesy moments, especially if you watch an English dub like I did. I especially liked that our heroine is capable of taking care of herself and is not stupid. On the bad side, movie isn't scary or all that thrilling and feels sloppy and like Argento is trying to hard to recapture his successes from youth. It is worth a watch for Argento fans and fans of the genre, but the rest should avoid it. 6.5/10!

A step backward for Argento

[Libretio · 4/10 · 8 March 2005]

THE CARD PLAYER (Il Cartaio)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Digital

Detectives in Rome search for a serial killer who forces officers to play online poker games to determine the fate of his/her victims.

A step backwards for Dario Argento following the artistic and commercial success of SLEEPLESS (2000), THE CARD PLAYER represents a deliberate return to the harsh modernism of THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1995), wherein the director's familiar obsessions are structured around the ultra-contemporary phenomenon of the Internet. Stefania Rocca and Liam Cunningham are the detectives charged with finding the killer, who mocks them with his/her technological savvy until they hire a street punk (Silvio Muccino) whose own technical skills afford them some degree of leeway, however briefly. There's very little on screen violence, though Argento indulges some unpleasant forensic detail as Cunningham examines various corpses (stunningly realized by effects artist Sergio Stivaletti) for clues to the killer's identity, and the set-pieces are largely routine, except for a startling sequence (recalling a similar scene in OPERA) in which Rocca is stalked through her darkened apartment by the lurking maniac, and Cunningham's stroll through a beautiful garden which may - or may not - belong to the killer, photographed with dream-like precision by cinematographer Benoît Debie.

Most of the actors speak English throughout, but some of the performances are compromised by post-synch dubbing: Rocca comes off as a little stiff, and crucial supporting players like Claudio Santamaria (as the fellow detective who harbors romantic feelings for Rocca) and Antonio Cantafora (the police chief whose daughter - played by Fiore Argento - becomes a potential victim) are poorly served by the English dubbing. Only Cunningham emerges with any degree of authority, largely because he uses his own voice throughout. Sadly, despite an eventful screenplay - co-written by Argento and exploitation veteran Franco Ferrini - the movie doesn't really amount to very much, with indifferent plot developments and half-hearted set-pieces. In fact, the entire production is undermined by its central conceit, which involves static confrontations between killer and police via the Internet, and the climactic showdown between Rocca and the killer is further compromised by having Rocca's fate decided on the outcome of yet *another* online poker game! Perversely, the film is much more satisfying than "Stendhal" (the Argento movie it most resembles), but the director has fallen victim to his own success: The technical innovations he pioneered throughout the 1970's and 80's have now been incorporated into mainstream features, pitting him in direct competition with filmmakers whose own work is inspired by Argento's cinematic legacy. SLEEPLESS proved he could rise above such challenges, but THE CARD PLAYER is a step in the wrong direction.

(English version)

Unexceptional But Enjoyable Mad Killer Taunts Police Italian Thriller

[ShootingShark · 6/10 · 3 March 2007]

In Rome, a killer kidnaps a British tourist and challenges the cops to a game of internet video-poker, with her life as the stakes. When they lose, an Irish policeman is brought in to assist with the investigation. Can they trace this lunatic, and how long before they receive an invitation to another game ?

Although it lacks the exceptional set-pieces of some of his other work, this is a reliably solid police thriller with suspenseful direction by the great Argento. The premise is a little bit thin for a whole movie, but the video-poker scenes are surprisingly tense and the film doesn't feel padded or overlong. It's a little clichéd for sure - workaholic cop with no personal life, unwilling partner with a murky past, obsessive killer with a chip on their shoulder - but Argento and Franco Ferrini's script moves along quickly and has some agreeable surprises along the way. Nicely shot in some dingy parts of Rome you don't normally see, and featuring a cool piano score by Claudio Simonetti. Unlikely leads Rocca and Cunningham both give fine, unpretentious performances, although the supporting cast are a little on the wooden side. This may be a minor work in Argento's canon but it features some great scenes, like the moment where Rocca suddenly notices the killer hiding outside her house, reflected in the glass of an ashtray. An agreeable thriller for suspense fans and a must for Argento addicts. Trivia - the kidnap victim who is saved (the Commissioner's daughter), is played by the elder of Argento's two daughters, Fiore. English title - The Card Player.

Another step in Argento's downhill slide

[simonsayz-1 · 4/10 · 30 April 2008]

Boy, whatever happened to Dario Argento? He always was wacky, something that crept into all of his films, but during the prime of his career he was also innovative, stylish and unpredictable. Almost all observers think of Argento's golden era ranging from "Profondo Rosso" to "Opera", or from the mid-1970's to the late 1980's. When entering the 90's he suddenly seemed to have lost interest in the fancy set pieces and stylish flourishes that made his name. Which would be fine if the viewer were rewarded with other things, such as good acting, reasonable dialogue and a script that makes sense. These three things have largely been absent throughout Argento's career, but the aforementioned strengths always compensated.

No such luck with "The Card Player." A specific style is completely missing, this film looks for the most part like a made-for-TV thriller. It also shows Argento's musical collaborator Simonetti erring again, this time by including some truly dreadful techno music (which almost destroys whatever tension the climax has). Set pieces are also absent, with even the more interesting moments like Remo's chase through the back streets coming of as mundane. Acting is typically mediocre-to-dreadful: The main actors are better than usual, also because both were not dubbed in post-production, but their roles are stock characters without much in the way of originality or interest. Character motivation and background is badly integrated or merely stated. Supporting actors are almost universally dreadful, hamming it up in the worst possible ways. Also absent is Argento's trademark gore, though this is far from the worst problem. Actually, Argento manages to stir up some dread without a splash of blood in a sequence in which a victim of the card player almost escapes which is caught by the web cam used for his transmission.

The worst part of this film, however, is a really dull script with lots of implausible plot holes the size of Sicily and an equally dull murderer with a non-existent motive. After so many giallos it is kind of hard to expect fresh tricks, but Argento also makes a terrible job here to disguise the killer. I had the correct killer identified before the ten-minute mark. And this despite a last-minute script change that changed the killer as the first choice was seen as "too obvious". How this is possible is beyond me, as even the character they chose couldn't be more obvious if he had a sign "I'm the secret psychopathic killer" around his neck. Subsequently, any possible tension is completely absent. All that's left is to focus on the flaws which are too many to mention. While never truly dreadful, "The Card Player" is something worse: deadly dull.

Fascinating thriller is not always on target but worth a look.

[hu675 · 8/10 · 4 March 2009]

A female police detective (Stefania Rocca), who works for the cyber crime unit in Rome. She receives an mysterious e-mail that the recent tourist is captured by the kidnapper. This psychopath wants to play poker on-line with the police, this crazed person rules are simple if you can beat him for three games. He promises, he will let his victim go if you can beat him. A British police officer (Liam Cunningham) comes to help the Italian police officers to catch the killer. But this murderer is so good at poker and he manages to keep the police away from finding him. Their only option is finding a young brilliant poker player (Silvio Muccino), who could save lives of the psychopath's would-be victims.

Directed by Dario Argento (Do you like Hitchcock ?, Opera, Two Evil Eyes) made an fairly intriguing suspense-thriller that was made before "Untraceable", which it has some of the same ideas. This Italian import is actually well dubbed in English, good performances by the leads, some suspense but flawed and sometimes incredibly absurd (not to mention, not everything in the story makes sense). It is one of the few Argento's movies doesn't have graphic gory violence or memorable set-pieces. Also, it is one of Argento's most straightforward films, although not one of his best works as a filmmaker.

The DVD has an good anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an decent Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD has an fairly interesting commentary track by film critic Alan Jones, interview with the director, interview with Claudio Simonetti (Who worked on most Argento's films) and more. Perphas the problem with the film is the conclusion, the identity of the villain is unexpected but the suspense at the climax is played for unintentional laughs and an unbelievable ending as well. "The Card Player" does have some dark humour, the cinematography is good and it's a modest Argento movie. Fans of the director's work will enjoy this best. Written by the filmmaker and Franco Ferrini (Once Upon a Time in America, The Stendhal Syndrome, Trauma). Worth a look. (*** 1/2 out of *****).

A less stylish yet more understandable Argento flick

[spacemonkey_fg · 6/10 · 29 March 2005]

Title: The Card Player (2004) Director: Dario Argento Cast: Stefania Rocca, Liam Cunningham, Claudio Santamaria, Sylvio Muccino Review: I was excited when a friend told me he'd been able to get his hands on a copy of Argentos latest film The Card Player. All I have seen as of late are his classics from his early years and I was eager to see if the master of Italian Giallos still had it in him to deliver a tense and entertaining film.

The Card Player is about a serial killer who catches his lady victims and later connects through the internet with the police department making them an offer. Either you play poker with him and win 3 out of 5 games or he kills the victim. A female detective by the name of Anna is the one who is contacted by the killer so she takes it upon herself to find a young kid who's an expert at playing poker so he can play against the killer...and maybe save the victims lives.

Watching this film I instantly noticed a few things about it. Number one, it was missing a few things that make an Argento flick and Argento flick. Namely, this movie was missing some of Argentos visual flare. His flashy camera moves and colors are gone. Too me this movie was devoid of what I loved the most about Argentos films: the color! This flick was totally colorless! And its not like in Opera where the movie purposely had sort of like a greyish almost black and white look to it...here some scenes just seem so devoid of life that I didn't feel like I was watching an Argento movie. I don't expect him to make every film look like Suspiria or Deep Red, but it just felt like that to me. Lifeless in look.

Another thing. Where were Argentos cool camera shots? Nowhere to be seen! Opera had em, Deep Red had em...even Two Evil Eyes had them. But the Card Player had non of Argentos cool camera angles that I've come to love! Bummer.

But lets move on to the positive side. We loose some (not all) of Argentos style but we gain in the "lets make this a cohesive and understandable film" department. Yes my friends, heres an Argento film that is actually cohesive and pretty easy to follow. At the same time it felt kind of weird cause I had actually gotten used to trying to figure out Argentos films like a puzzle...yet this one was strangely easy to follow. He obviously focused a whole lot more on developing and telling the story in a way that the audience could easily understand. It felt strange coming from Argento but I guess it was a welcomed thing. I guess you could see that also from a negative side since some people actually like the fact that Argentos films are not always easy to grasp. I guess you could say that this was one of his most formulaic and commercial films to date.

I enjoyed the characters very much, specially the young kid named Remo. Argento made sure that we get to know these characters well before anything happens. He makes you like em so then he can play with your nerves in those really tense sequences. And I must say that Argento still has the touch of making a tense situation and then turning up the heat and making it even more intense. I'm talking about the scene where the killer is inside of Annas apartment. That scene was pure Argento at play and it reminded me of a scene in Opera where the killer also manages to get into the girls apartment. There's another excellent scene involving a chase scene with Remo. Great stuff there and those scenes reminded me that I was in fact watching an Argento flick.

Gone is the gore and blood. Sorry folks but it appears that in todays modern PC world even Argento has had to bow down to the powers that be and he went and made a film without practically any blood in it. There's some violence and the death sequences are great...but unfortunately bloodless. So be ready for that. I didn't really feel it so much because aside from the fact that the death sequences had little to no blood, Argento still managed to make em suspenseful and tense. He replaced blood with really tight suspense sequences. The scenes where we see the card games on the computer where great because they actually show the face of the victim on the computer screen as we watch the game going on. Nice touch and hearing the victims screams during the poker game was a fantastic choice that made the proceedings all the more tense.

So what we have here is an Argento flick without the usual Argento staples like stylish colors and creative camera angles. Still, without those things we've come to expect from the man, Argento managed to put his stamp on the film in other ways . All in all an entertaining flick that shows us glimpses of who Argento was in his blood drenched glory days but it seems to me like this movie was very restrained, kind of afraid to be what it should have been. Its Argento for a PC world.

Rating: 31/2 out of 5

Argento his not De Palma

[aoiharu01 · 4/10 · 3 February 2004]

Well, the plot is good, not so bad, Argento could be do much more with a story like that. But the problem is he doesn't know how to do with it. Shot a computer screen is the worst thing in the world to recording. There is noting more static, not interesting than a computer screen. And Argento is not De Palma, he has nothing really good to say on Internet and everything. He want to play the modern guy who have a speech to say on Internet, "voyeurisme" etc, but, it's not him. It's not his style (yes he have one, or many). Argento love so much pictures, image. He like too much to watch a murder on screen to speech on this kind of things. And finally we just have a poor detective story, with no surprise, no intensity. Argento miss the movie he would probably made.