Movie Review: 13 (2010)

Even Jason Statham couldn't save this bomb; unfortunately, he doesn't even get a chance. 13 "stars" young Sam Riley as Vince, electrician-extraordinaire who finds it difficult to afford his hospitalized father's next (and thoroughly vague) operation. So one day, on a seemingly innocuous house call, he overhears one of his clients arguing with his wife/girlfriend/whatever about a mysterious letter he has just received. Vince makes note of where his client stashes the letter, and when that client checks out via an overdose the next day, Vince retrieves the letter and follows the instructions inside. Little does he know, however, that he walks right into a high stakes game of Russian roulette. Nervous Vinnie doesn't even know how to handle his pistol, let alone shoot one of the other "players," but he courageously pushes on in the contest, through four elimination rounds, and culminating in a duel with mega cash (for the victor and for the handlers and gamblers that place bets on these horses) on the line. This is not a totally irredeemable plot, mind you, at least as an idea, but in execution it's very bad indeed. Acting is the single biggest problem here; Sam Riley vacillates between a blank face (taken, I suppose, to be his attempt at stoic determination) and a grimace/sneer that more strongly resembles a person suffering from heartburn and indigestion than a man full of hatred and fear. And the rest of the cast are completely miscast or misused. Jason Statham does little to nothing in his role as the gambler Jasper (he only gets in some of his trademark swears at the end of the film), Mickey Rourke looks bored, and 50 Cent's acting makes Sam Riley's look like Jack Nicholson. Just skip this one.