Donald Westlake’s Parker character, who he wrote about in many books under his penname Richard Stark, is a clever yet nasty machine of a criminal with a preternatural drive. That alone makes for a compelling screen character. But his brutishness doesn’t gel with the more comedic style preferred by Shane Black, director and co-writer of Play Dirty, a very loose adaptation of the Parker book series that keeps Westlake’s penchant for grubby violence but grafts it uneasily onto a more noble character whom the author wouldn’t recognize.
Mark Wahlberg’s Parker is a resourceful crook who doesn’t seem governed by an honor-among-thieves code. But he still takes it personally when fellow crook Zen (Rosa Salazar) double-crosses and murders his crew, including his friend Philly (Thomas Jane). Wanting revenge for himself and Philly’s widow (Gretchen Mol), Parker goes after Lozini (Tony Shalhoub), the mob boss who set up the double cross and with whom Parker has a history.
Instead of having Parker methodically blast his way through Lozini’s henchmen to get his money and vengeance, Black and co-writers Charles Mondry and Anthony Bagarozzi focus on a tangled hullabaloo of plot (bits and pieces of which are plucked out of the book series) about stealing an expensive historical relic. This requires Parker to establish an alliance of convenience with Zen and put together a new crew of his old confederates.
While we’re introduced to secondary characters, like Ed (Keegan-Michael Key) and Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield), who bring the right amount of brightness and verve to the proceedings, Wahlberg is hardly a good fit for the comedic tone that Black fitfully pursues. He plays Parker closer to the quippy manner used by Mel Gibson for Payback, Brian Helgeland’s 1999 adaptation of Westlake’s The Hunter, than Lee Marvin’s steely emotionlessness in Point Blank, John Boorman’s phenomenal 1967 adaptation of the same novel.
Stanfield and Wahlberg have decent chemistry, while a goofy scene where Ed puts on a disguise to take over a subway control station plays like a Key & Peele sketch riffing on The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. But between the dense backstory about Zen trying to get money to fund an insurgency back in her unnamed South American homeland and the poorly choreographed set pieces, including a heist involving a derailed subway train, the film largely plays like a misguided action extravaganza from the 1980s produced by Joel Silver. While some elements of Play Dirty feel dated—it’s a wonder that Zen’s red beret-wearing comrades don’t start shooting AK-47s in the air while shouting “Viva la revolución!”—others, like the poor CGI that ensures most of the action scenes have little to no impact, feel unfortunately of the moment.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
