Gambit - Der Masterplan

Es stört mich nicht, dass ein Remake eines Films, den ich mag, entstanden ist. Es stört mich, dass ein schlechtes Remake gemacht wurde. Das merkt man u. a. daran, dass man im Film nicht viel Humor findet, obwohl es sich um eine Komödie handeln soll. Der Hauptheld, gespielt von Colin Firth, ist ein unfähiger und nerviger Tölpel, der alle Beleidigungen des snobistischen Alan Rickman eigentlich verdient hat. Cameron Diaz hat keine Möglichkeit bekommen, etwas zu zeigen, obwohl sie das wahrscheinlich gerne getan hätte… Ansonsten: nichts. Ich hätte wirklich nicht gedacht, dass die Coen-Brüder einen so einfachen und dummen Humor wie Doppeldeutigkeiten beim Hotelempfang nötig haben. Gambit - Der Masterplan hat zwar einige bessere Momente, aber so wie bei Monets Gemälde gilt auch hier, dass es nur ein Original gibt. (19.09.2015)

The Coen brothers had a good idea. It actually wasn’t such an original idea. Well, those stacks of hay may have been quite original. But their story is actually a lot more interesting than this movie. I couldn’t really get over the way the story was told. The absurd nature of the film reminded me a bit of the movie The Ladykillers. But in this movie, things were taken so far that I really had a problem with it. All the actors portray classical template characters. Cameron Diaz portrays the typical dumb Texas chick. Colin Firth then portrays a cheeky British guy, who thinks he’s had a brilliant idea. And for a change, Alan Rickman portrays a boss who is drowning in cash and who’s really mean to everybody. All in all, there was nothing interesting about this movie, with the possible exception of a bit of a truth about those stacks of hay. You see after the movie, I had to google the rest of the truth immediately. (28.02.2014)

This one was a letdown for me. It feels like a case of wasting the actors' potential. Colin Firth, once again, played a variation of Mr. Darcy, which I don't mean as criticism — I think he nails those dry, uptight characters. I might have enjoyed it more if the film had a stronger screenplay. Alan Rickman, while still exuding his unmistakable charisma, didn't have much to work with. Stanley Tucci's role felt especially poorly written, which was a shame. As for Cameron Diaz, she just doesn't do it for me. The biggest issue, though, was that the story didn't really go anywhere. I found it hard to laugh when the cast delivered lines that felt more at home in comedies like American Pie. / Lesson learned: Do you happen to own original works by famous painters? Give them a wash, just to be safe. (25.06.2022)

Colin Firth bears the main weight of the film, as he is the one who will make you watch it until the end in this American variation of British humor. He is interesting, funny, and entertaining. Alan Rickman is a bit too much of a classic villain, so you definitely won't be rooting for him. The characters are only sketched superficially, with only Firth having some depth, but he still remains a caricature. However, in the second half, it starts to become fun, which is good. The film needed it. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver the funny scenes, or at least potentially funny scenes, in a way that truly amuses. It's as if the director let the film flow without realizing that they could do something with the pace, that they could help the jokes. I don't know how much control the Coen brothers had over their film, but it probably needed a bit more restraint in each scene. In that case, the film could have become at least above average. This way, it doesn't quite catch on, even though it wants to. (19.11.2013)