Tagged: Jason Statham
Wild Card: Jason Statham’s Corduroy Car Coat and Ford Torino
Jason Statham as the Ford Torino-driving Nick Wild in Wild Card (2015)
Vitals
Jason Statham as Nick Wild, tough security consultant and bodyguard-for-hire
Las Vegas, Christmas 2013
Film: Wild Card
Release Date: January 14, 2015
Director: Simon West
Costume Designer: Lizz Wolf
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Car Week continues into December with a little-discussed action movie that—like The Bourne Identity and Three Days of the Condor—is set during against a Christmas backdrop complete with carols on the soundtrack, though the holiday timing has little impact on the plot. (I don’t include Die Hard in this category because, as many have argued, Christmas is the reason for the whole plot!)
Reviving a role originated by Burt Reynolds in William Goldman’s 1986 movie Heat, Jason Statham plays Nick Wild, a “security consultant” for Las Vegas lawyer Pinchus “Pinky” Zion (Jason Alexander), who makes his daily commute from a seedy motel in a snazzy ’69 Ford Torino. Continue reading
Wild Card: Jason Statham’s Black Leather Jacket
Jason Statham as Nick Wild in Wild Card (2015)
Vitals
Jason Statham as Nick Wild, bodyguard-for-hire
Las Vegas, Christmas 2013
Film: Wild Card
Release Date: January 14, 2015
Director: Simon West
Costume Designer: Lizz Wolf
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Following a request I received via my Instagram account last November, today’s post explores the Jason Statham action thriller Wild Card, coincidentally released five years ago today. The movie was a remake of the 1986 movie Heat starring Burt Reynolds and adapted by William Goldman from his own novel, not to be confused with Michael Mann’s heist epic released nine years later.
Despite Wild Card‘s less than stellar reviews and box office returns, it was an interesting experience, watching a familiar and eclectic cast through a movie that took a surprisingly understated approach for an era where action movies tend to rely on excessive CGI and explosive value, weaving through various genres and plot directions with our taciturn protagonist. Continue reading
Terry Leather’s Herringbone Coat in The Bank Job
Jason Statham as Terry Leather in The Bank Job (2008).
Vitals
Jason Statham as Terry Leather, fledging bank robber and former car salesman
East London, September 1971
Film: The Bank Job
Release Date: February 29, 2008
Director: Roger Donaldson
Costume Designer: Odile Dicks-Mireaux
Background
Based partially on some possibly true events (or at least theories) surrounding the famous Baker Street robbery of 1971, The Bank Job is a fun caper flick from 2008 that stars Jason Statham in a decidedly less Statham-esque role than usual, leading a team of non-violent petty criminals chosen by the British government to burglarize a bank.
Of course, it’s not that simple as Statham’s crew isn’t even aware that they’re working for the government and wedging themselves between a sadistic London gangster and a militant revolutionary. Continue reading
Terry Leather’s Brown Leather Jacket in The Bank Job
Jason Statham as Terry Leather in The Bank Job (2008).
Vitals
Jason Statham as Terry Leather, struggling car salesman and petty thief
East London, September 1971
Film: The Bank Job
Release Date: February 29, 2008
Director: Roger Donaldson
Costume Designer: Odile Dicks-Mireaux
Background
The Bank Job is a fun and different approach to the well-worn territory of the heist film by taking a true event and deconstructing it to propel the story forward with an appropriate mix of lightheartedness and genuine suspense. While Jason Statham once again plays a charming wiseass who’s a bit too comfortable on the wrong side of the law, his typical ass-kicking bravado is replaced by a combination of wit and desperation that provides a realistic motive for a man in his circumstances.
The movie begins by introducing Statham as Terry Leather, a car salesman and repair shop owner trying to make ends meet between loans from various London gangsters. He’s no gangster himself, although he’s got some criminal pals, and it is they who will come in handy once the alluringly mysterious model Martine (Saffron Burrows) comes calling with a tip that may get him back on his feet.
What’d He Wear?
When we first meet Terry Leather, he’s doing a fine job living up to his name by actually wearing a cool leather jacket. The titles tell us that this is “East London, 1971”, but the sight of Jason Statham in a badass vintage brown leather jacket as he stands between a black ’62 Singer sedan and a sweet Austin-Healey roadster give us all the context we need. Continue reading