Thirteen ( 13 ) ( Russian Roulette )

A few years ago, I came across an odd little foreign film that I absolutely fell in love with named "13 Tzameti." At the time, I had no clue what the movie was about and, without preconceived notions, I was fascinated by the dark and twisted tale that unraveled. As a young man is drawn into a complicated and deadly underground battle for survival, the movie is rather stunning in its simplicity. As a very low budget endeavor, it used its sparseness to great advantage. Claustrophobic, tense, and unrelenting, the camera pushes up close and personal as the tension escalates throughout and it is truly a riveting and, at times, unsettling experience. Its writer/director Gela Babluani has been given the opportunity to adapt his thrilling and award winning sensation (Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Best Director at Venice Film Festival) into an English language version with a pretty impressive cast. The resultant "13" lacks a bit of the intensity of its predecessor, and opening up the story doesn't necessarily serve the material well. Also, its intriguing premise is a little harder to buy in an American Midwest setting, but the movie still has a visceral punch that a certain audience might enjoy.

The movie stars Sam Riley (so great in Control) as an electrician whose family is in dire financial straits. At a work site, he hears talk of a clandestine "job" that has the potential to pay huge. When the person planning on attending the job dies of an overdose, Riley nabs the instructions and heads off to take his place. He has no idea what is in store for him! What he finds is a chilling sports contest in which people bet on life and death itself in increasingly challenging rounds. He can't back out and there can be only one winner, and Riley has no choice but to try to make it to the end. The testosterone fueled plot is headlined by some talented individuals--Mickey Rourke and Ray Winstone are fellow contestants, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and Alexander Skarsgard are two of the contestant minders, Ben Gazzara and Jason Statham are financially invested, and Michael Shannon is the evening's intense emcee. While it is a fantastic cast, though, no one (aside from Riley and maybe Statham) really has a lot to do.

Herein lies the problem, Babluani tries to adapt his screenplay to accommodate this roster of actors. So we get flashbacks and character development for peripheral and non-important characters. Yes, now we get more of Mickey Rourke and 50 Cent, but this actually detracts from the central contest. And that is the movie! The contest is inescapable and the original movie put viewers on the front lines until the very end. It was exquisitely uncomfortable in confining us in the small and deadly space. But while I wasn't necessarily blown away by "13," I still appreciated its unsavory premise. The cast is quite good, even if underutilized, and it's not a movie you feel like you've seen a hundred times before. Those expecting big action may have to look elsewhere, this plays more as a psychological thriller. I suspect this movie might be a bit divisive--you could think it is outlandish and hate it or you could like it for its uniqueness. I liked, but didn't love, "13." But I do recommend it and, if you ever get the chance, check out the original as well for something a bit more harrowing. About 3 1/2 stars. KGHarris, 10/11.

Even a great premise and a strong supporting cast can't save a poorly made movie. "13" sat on the shelf for over a year (it was produced for release in 2010) for very good reason--it's not very good. In "13" Vince (Sam Riley who played Ian Curtis so well in "Control") who needs money for his father's operation takes on the identity of a dead drug addict unaware that he's stepping into a high stakes illegal contest where he competes against others (Ray Winstone, Mickey Rourke)playing Russian Roulette. The chance to make millions and save his father keeps Vince from trying to escape.

Co-writer Greg Pruss and director Géla Babluani take a fascinating premise that has great potential and wastes it in a film that generates no suspense and, essentially, goes no where. It's tragic because the film has a strong cast (including Jason Statham, Ben Gazzara and Alexander Skarsgård) given very little to do but look moody and trade threatening glances. This is evidently a remake of a foreign film which I haven't seen so I don't know how it compares to that original film.

For those who care the image quality is quite good as is the 5.1 audio mix. The only extra is a featurette on the making of the film.

"13" wastes a strong cast, a great premise with the result a disappointing genre film that fails to deliver on all fronts.

Unless your idea of fun is watching men scream at each other, shoot each other in the head in tension and action free sequences, you should avoid "13".

I guess since this was about Russian roulette and listed Jason Statham as one of the stars I expected it to be more exciting. I was definitely not on the edge of my seat, even when guys had guns to each other's heads.

Another complaint I have is I didn't really feel I knew much about most of the characters. In many cases I didn't even know their names. It took a little straining to remember the "hero" is named Vince, in large part because for 2/3 of the movie he's referred to as "Number 13."

The reason for this is that Vince finds an invitation to a Russian roulette tournament. The mechanics of this are a little hazy to me. I think Vince is working at renovating this guy's house. The guy overdoses on morphine after he gets the invitation. Vince finds it and since he needs money for an operation for his dad (I think), he goes to New York to take the other guy's place.

The tournament is held in a mansion (or something) out in the middle of nowhere. I don't know how far you have to get from New York City for that. There are at least 17 players. Each one has essentially a sponsor. I'm not really sure who Vince's was. At the house we meet some of the other participants. There's #17 (Mickey Rourke) who was in a Mexican prison before being smuggled into the US for the tournament. He keeps telling his handler (50 Cent) that he knows where there's a large stash of money. 17 and his money really have no bearing on the overall plot.

Vince's main rival is #6 Robert Lynn (Ray Winstone) who was in a mental institution until his brother Jasper (Jason Statham) signs him out to be in the tourney. #6 has won the tourney a few times before. For some reason, Jasper borrows 2 million from someone to gamble in the tourney on his brother.

I think part of the reason I was never too excited is besides being located in a mansion--and not somewhere seedy like a back alley--is there are so many rules. For the first two rounds everyone stands in a circle. They're given a gun and one bullet. They put the guns in the air and spin the chamber around at the behest of the referee who sits in a chair like a tennis umpire. Then each player puts his gun at the head of the guy in front of him. (They are all guys.) When a light with spiders on it (why spiders? I don't know) goes on, they fire. Some people die and others live. For the next round, there are two bullets in the guns. The final round features two players chosen at random to "duel." They get three bullets in their guns. If you can't guess who is chosen to duel they show you A) on the DVD back cover and B)A few minutes into the film. So I guess that's another strike as it spoils a little of the drama.

Anyway, with so many rules and everything so well-mannered (they even let the "survivors" go free!) it felt more like watching tennis than Russian roulette. That and I didn't really know much about the important characters and a lot of characters weren't that important anyway, like #17.

So this definitely could have been a better movie. Maybe the original version was better; I might have to go look for it on Netflix or something.

BTW, there were no extras on the copy I was given from the Vine newsletter. I don't know if the copy for purchase has any extras or what they might be.

That is all.