Frankly, I stopped paying much attention to this film after the second time Colin Firth got punched in the nose. Why is it considered funny to see a harmless person abused by a fat idiot? I find it disturbing and characteristic of a weak plot and inferior and unbelievable character development. Which is to say, there wasn't any. Firth was his generally understated engaging self and Alan Rickman was his usually aloof and interesting nasty guy. Cameron Diaz played her ditzy self, somewhat reprising her character in Something about Mary. But what a terrible waste of good actors. The star power in the film should have guaranteed a better film: Tom Courtenay, Stanley Tucci , Cloris Leachman, Ben Kingsley. And, for good measure, a couple of hot babes: Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Bonet. Stars, however, for the most part do what they are told and in this case what they were told was of not much help. This has to be the worst film ever written by Ethan and Joel Coen. Are they getting lazy? Or should the blame be placed on the director, Michael Hoffman? If you are looking for a piece of fluff that might appeal to people who don't take movies seriously, and if you enjoy watching babes and seeing people get hit in the face then you might like this film. But I much, much, much prefer the original Gambit starring Michael Caine and Shirley McLane. Save your money and save your time and see the earlier one instead. This one is just awful.
Review of Gambit
