“Play Dirty” (2025) Review
Director: Shane Black Screenwriter: Shane Black, Charles Mondry, Anthony Bagarozzi Cast: Mark Wahlberg, LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, Keegan-Michael Key, Chukwudi Iwuji, Nat Wolff, Gretchen Mol, Thomas Jane, Tony Shalhoub Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios Running Time: 128 min. MPAA: R
A hallmark of Shane Black’s writing and direction is his use of Christmas in his movies. Play Dirty adheres to this holiday tradition, but it appears like a shiny ornament on a decaying pine tree. It’s a caper that tries to exude some fast-paced charm in its many chases, shootouts, and twists, but it is more routine than rousing. One can only take so many surprise deaths and switcheroos before the surprise is gone and the twists feel tediously obligatory.
It doesn’t help that the film’s protagonist, expert thief Parker, is played by Mark Wahlberg, who gives his stock brand of action movie banter about as fresh as a tuna sandwich from a vending machine. Parker lives a life where his crew can be deceived and gunned down at any time, as the opening heist leads to a heavy body count and unexpected betrayal by the violent thief Zen (Rosa Salazar). Most trustworthy associates, like the theater-loving Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield), are notable for his devoted performances in a job requiring many roles. Plenty of running and gunning around before the film ultimately settles on Parker being tasked with swiping a massive piece of art sought by a corrupt country.
The heist has plenty of action and twists, as Parker’s team struggles to stay one step ahead of the hot-headed Lozini (Tony Shalhoub) and the rich egotist Phineas Paul (Chukwudi Iwuji). But there’s a desperation in a film like this that keeps throwing much gunfire, chases, jokes, and quirks at the screen. For the first few scenes, there’s undoubtedly some grit for a film where one character says a cliche line like “Kill me if you must,” and the one with the gun does just that. But after you get used to the pattern, the kills become less impactful, and you’re not so excited to see who catches the next bullet as you set your watch to see when it arrives. It’s a formula that harkens to the excruciating staging of Mad Dog Time, a film that is essentially a series of scenes where gangsters meet, toss around some dialogue, and then shoot each other.
At least Play Dirty has the benefit of some exciting sequences with Black going the extra mile. There’d have to be some thrills from a train derailing situation and Stanfield narrowly avoiding the crashing cars. There is something impressive about a scene of dashing through the snow with stolen art attached to an ATV, with Wahlberg trying to keep up as he smashes through suburban houses. And yet it only reeks of a desperation to keep the action constantly moving to make up for the lacking characters, if only to distract from the needlessly intricate staging. This film is so bloated and boring at times that even the presence of Mark Cuban playing himself in a role where thieves gun him down isn’t enough to warrant a rousing watch.
Play Dirty doesn’t get dirty enough with its gritty caper, which is more rote than rambunctious. There’s a lacking attempt at quirkiness that makes the film feel like a quasi-Tarantino wannabe script coated with the glaze of a big-budget made-to-order action film, packed with CGI and stunts for the grandest of heists. It saddens me to see Shane Black direct a film that once more falls into the forgettable bucket of Prime Video’s mindless action flicks that may mildly entertain for an hour and be forgotten about in the day, guaranteed with such a forgettable title. While this is undoubtedly on the higher end of the lacking commercial action pictures that usually grace streaming platforms as the action movie of the week, it’s still a disappointment coming from Shane Black, a director who can work wonders with his filmography of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys. Those films were alive; Play Dirty needs CPR.
