A new movie from Shane Black, his first in seven years, probably deserves better than a hype-free direct-to-Prime-Video release. Even if the film proves itself a relatively minor entry in Black’s filmography.
Black first came to fame as a screenwriter in the 1980s, writing the first two Lethal Weapon films, along with The Last Boy Scout. He made his directorial debut 20 years ago with the delightful Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, after which he reunited with that film’s leading man, Robert Downey, Jr., to direct the third Iron Man movie. He made The Nice Guys in 2016, an L.A. neo-noir with a passionate cult following, following that up with a Predator sequel two years later.
Now, Black is back with Play Dirty, which again features Black’s combination of action and jokes. The film gets off to a decent start, but its plot eventually gets more convoluted than necessary. Play Dirty is another adaptation of Donald Westlake’s Parker books, published under the name Richard Stark, although the story itself is original. Everyone from Lee Marvin to Jim Brown to Robert Duvall to Mel Gibson to Jason Statham has played Parker in the past, and now it's Mark Wahlberg’s turn. He’s an actor who’s such a perfect fit for Black’s style that it’s a surprise they’d never worked together. Then again, Downey and his wife are listed as executive producers, so it’s likely he was set to play Parker himself at some point. And the movie would’ve likely been much better.
Wahlberg’s Parker is the leader of a heist crew, introduced carrying out a racetrack counting room robbery gone wrong that leads to the incongruous sight of cars chasing horses around a track. It gets worse when a member of the crew (Rosa Salazar) shoots most of the rest of them and takes the gains herself, although she and Parker end up on the same side again.
The film then moves to the “real” heist, of a valuable $1 billion artifact belonging to a corrupt Central American dictator. The plans to steal it involve “The Outfit,” led by crime boss Tony Shalhoub. Parker decides to steal from the thieves.
In the film’s best idea, a criminal accomplice of Parker’s (Lakeith Stanfield) runs a community theater, which he’s either using as a loss leader or a money-laundering front. I enjoyed Keegan-Michael Key and Australian actress Claire Lovering as married thieves, as well as a cameo from Mark Cuban.
The bottom line is that the setup’s good, but eventually the plot drags too much, and the double-crosses get tiresome. And Alan Silvestri’s score does more aping of James Bond music than is necessary.