Shade (2004)

Directed by Damian Nieman. Starring Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Sylvester Stallone, Jamie Foxx, Roger Guenveur Smith, Melanie Griffith, Bo Hopkins, Patrick Bauchau, Hal Holbrook. [R]

Hackneyed con artist thriller set among various cardsharps, cheats, crooks, and clichés. Expert “mechanic” Townsend provides the nimble card-dealing fingers, Newton is the snake with sex appeal, Foxx is an easy mark who’ll disappear in the second half, Griffith has no reason for even being in this movie, etc. Obvious from the get-go, and a story focused on high-stakes poker, hustling, and double-crosses without any surprises or novelty is the sort of hand that should be folded during the first round of betting. No one in the ensemble cast brings their A-game, but since they probably read the script before someone yelled, “Action,” they probably knew there was no need to. Aside from a few embarrassing shoot-outs—one occurs in the first three minutes, and is bad enough to inspire walk-outs right away—the material is given just enough generic polish to make the tortured effort go down a little easier. For those merely looking for a little shuffle-up-and-deal action, please be advised that it’s unclear whether or not writer/director Nieman (who’s also a sleight-of-hand artist) did any sort of research into the general rules and strategy of poker. Tony Burton (from Stallone’s Rocky movies) and Charles Rocket both have minor roles; it was the latter’s final film.

37/100