Géla Babluani’s luck runs out in his US remake of his own 13 Tzameti, the jittery 2005 thriller about a secret millionaire’s club betting on sick games of Russian roulette.
Originally a gloomy parable about immigrant labour, Babluani here settles for depthless macho-masochism by shifting the focus from bland hero Sam Riley (now going through hell just to pay dad’s medical bills) onto his co-stars from Badasses Anonymous: Ray Winstone, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke and 50 Cent.
A smidgeon of Babluani’s once-incendiary intent survives in Michael Shannon’s fierce supporting turn, but otherwise such transparent grasping for the Friday-night rental crowd deserves an extra round in the chamber.
