The remake of this action thriller surpassed the original in all areas

The book arrived in 1985. Heat by writer William Goldman. A year later, a film based on the book was released, directed by Dick Richards and Jerry Jameson, and starring Burt Reynolds. Thirty years later, in 2015, I obtained… Heat a new version, which is much better.

Heat It follows Nick “Mex” Escalante, a former mercenary who works as a bodyguard in Las Vegas. The film was a failure at the time, both commercially and critically. In 2015, a remake of the film was released, titled Wild Card, starring Jason Statham. This remake was also a critical and commercial failure, but it’s still better than the original film.

History
reynolds Heat a Statham Wildcard boil down to the highlights of Goldman’s book: Las Vegas bodyguard Nick “The Mex” Escalante (renamed Nick Wild in Statham’s version) is hired by Holly to exact revenge on young gangster Danny DeMarco and his henchmen. that they mistreated her. Using special combat skills with cutting weapons, Nick manages to defeat the henchmen and give Holly the chance for revenge.

The main subplots involve Nick being hired to toughen up a rich, mild-mannered man, Cyrus, resulting in an unexpected friendship. Also, Nick tries to use Holly’s job earnings to win enough money at the casino to flee to Venice.

Revive your film career
Reynolds saw Goldman’s novel as an opportunity to revive his film career. in his memories But enough about me The ’70s star described how he faced a series of failed films in the early ’80s and suffered a serious jaw injury on the set of city ​​heatin which he starred alongside Clint Eastwood. On paper, the character of Nick had all the qualities that made Reynolds popular: very masculine, loyal to his friends and with a twinkle in his eye when it came to women.

the production of Heat It was problematic from the beginning, starting with director Robert Altman. According to the book by Patrick McGilligan Robert Altman: jumping off the cliff the famous director walked away MIX of the project when Goldman refused to adapt the screenplay of his novel. Richards took on the role due to his previous collaboration with producer Elliott Kasner on the adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s Farewell, My Lovely.

Wildcard
Reynolds revealed in his memoirs that he did not get along with the new director, leading to a physical confrontation and a lawsuit that lasted for years. Due to Reynolds’ minor star status and creative problems behind the scenes, this happened Heat far from the intense thriller that Goldman describes in his novel.

When Wildcard Made thirty years later, the film adapted the British action hero, known for his martial arts skills and charming humor. However, the film remained remarkably faithful to Goldman’s original script, which was written before the production of Heat had been adjusted. The stories remained largely the same, but with one important difference: Statham is more believable as an unbeatable guy in every scene than the older, tired-looking Reynolds.

Casting cast
Unlike the feud between Reynolds and Richards, Statham and director Simon West already had a positive working relationship thanks to The Expendables 2 in the mechanic. Since both men have experience with action films, the fight sequences are in Wildcard Much more intense, more Statham-esque. Crankmovies that the slow style of the 70s Heat.

Another aspect that Wildcard does it better than Heat It’s the supporting cast. Statham has been lucky to surround himself with big stars, whether in the Expendables of the beekeeper was. Talented actors brought Goldman’s characters to life, including Michael Angarano as Cyrus, Milo Ventimiglia as DeMarco, and Sofia Vergara, Jason Alexander and Stanley Tucci. Heat It had good performances from Peter McNichol as Cyrus and Karen Young as Holly, but the rest of the cast seemed to be just in it for the money.

To look at?
Wildcard In the end, it didn’t do well enough at the box office to launch a new franchise for Statham, much like Heat It failed to stop Reynolds’ list of failed films. Still, the differences in stars and behind-the-scenes atmosphere made a big difference in quality. While Heat became an infamous chapter in Reynolds’ career, Statham’s performance added Wildcard only to his credibility as a modern action hero.

Want Heat in Wildcard to see? Heat It is currently not available on the various streaming services in the Netherlands. Wildcard you can see it in Videoland and you can also rent and buy the movie on Pathe Thuis in main video.