User reviews

This movie is so slow. It requires tons of patience. And on top of that, so many parts are weird. Like why two guys who don't know each other would go on a cross-country trip together. Or why we need an unnecessary and awkward romance side plot. Or why Tiffany Haddish keeps getting roles.

My only positives are Oscar Isaac's performance and the directing/cinematography in a bunch of cool shots. (1 viewing, 2/6/2022)

I respect Paul Schaeder. I respect him so much that I bought my movie ticket based on the strength of his name. I loved him as a director in Cat People, American Gigolo, Hardcore. And Blue Collar. I loved his writing in Taxi Driver, Rolling Thunder, Mishima, Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ. Seeing The Card Counter reminded me that those past glories were long ago. I wanted to like it but, try as I may, I couldn't find much to praise. The narrative flow and rhythm just wasn't there. I couldn't empathize with the protagonists (young and old) and we didn't see enough of the antagonist to feel much of anything.

To paraphrase a far better film, the 1954 On the Waterfront, 'It coulda had class. It coulda been a contender. It coulda been something, instead of a bum, which is what it was, let's face it.'

Isaac is great, Sheridan and Dafoe are good. Haddish is someone out of place here unfortunately. Directionless movies. Well written but goes down in flames on screen. Now if only it going down in flames was exciting... which it isn't.

Isaac is credibile, Defoe adds nothing, and the rest of the acting plus the story is crap and a waste of time. Tagged as a thriller, but it's mostly a boring ride through a sad, meaningless character study.

The Card Counter is a type of story we've all seen and / or heard before. A character has his or her life in order. Everything is focused. Each day like the day before. The same clothes, food, job, lack of emotional vulnerability. And this seems to be working. Until one day something or, more likely, someone comes along and our 'hero' is forced to take a risk. To deviate from the prescribed norm. And that gets either good or bad results for the hero. And forms the story's major plot device.

And here is why this latest 'take' on the story does not work. (1) We do not know what drives our hero; we have no idea of who he is or why he is so controlled. (2) We do not know what there is about the someone who comes along that would cause our hero to take as big a risk as he does. (3) The plot contrivances are so over-the-top that the viewer all but screams 'No'. A three-way chance meeting at a trade show is the coincidence of all coincidences. (4) A whole lot of action (in fact nearly all the action) takes place 'off screen'. (5) The fish-eye lens used in dream sequences and flashbacks does no one a favor. (6) This is a small character-driven film; a rarity nowadays. And as such it has the responsibility of being better. (7) Director Paul Shrader; what in the world were you thinking?

And there's more. It's dark. The music is mind-numbing .... But for the sake of Oscar Isaac, Willem DaFoe, and especially Tiffany Hadish (who is remarkably likable), all of whom do their very best with what's available, let's leave it at that.

Awful, dark, no major plot development, deep breathing in the background that makes no sense, mournful singing, nothing happens and when we left the cinema early we looked up what happens later so we knew the full movie and we were glad we left. Apparently the ending was very confusing. Do not waste your time. I don't need sunshine lollipops and rainbows, but this was waaaaay too dark for my liking.

Just style doesn't make the movie... It's dull, boring, meaningless and by far not a "big movie"...

Oscar Issacs was great, but the whole thing is just missing any point. This garbage should never have been released in theaters. This is no Ocean's movie or anything entertaining whatsoever. Even the dark under story barely makes it to the surface and you are just left there wondering when the plot is even going to begin. What a waste of time. I haven't seen a movie this bad since The Rum Diaries or Moonlight.

Watching people play cards is more exciting than watching this movie. And watching people playing cards is like watching water boil. Skip and play online solitare, it'll be more fun.

This movie has 0 actual gambling, they show 1 black jack hand the whole movie.

Its a thinly veiled, horribly paced, slow slog of a 'thriller' , with no action, no suspense, just puzzling ideas and two jarring 'stories' jammed together with almost no common ground at all.

Acting was flat, movie pace was all flat. Just not enjoyable AT ALL. They YADA YADA over all the gambling, all the good parts and it just sucks.

Dont watch it. Please.

So this movie definitely appears to be one of those burners that is hopefully leading up to something near the end. But omg the ending was just terrible. I honestly am mad that I sat through two hours for it to end that way.

Seriously, re-release this with an alternate ending otherwise it's not worth watching.

Long awaited movie but unfortunately very disappointing.

It's a movie that tries to have this dark and gloomy - brooding - plot running through it, but unfortunately it doesn't do it very well.

Not a fan of Tiffany Haddish and she added nothing to the movie.

Overall it was a very, very bland movie that ended up being more 'boring and weak' than 'dark and brooding'.

Pass.

This film is so disconnected. Not exactly sure what they were trying to accomplish. Is it a card player movie or a character study of a former soldier? Neither one works, and they sure as hell don't work together. I'd waste your time playing solitaire or counting cards by yourself at home instead. Maybe learn to play that guitar in the corner of your spare bedroom. The one that's missing the G string.

Scorsese should have never lent his name to this turd. Great cast, bug a plot line that goes absolutely nowhere.

Non compelling characters a plot that just meanders and plods. I had high expectations and this movie just does not deliver.

Unfortunately, it was one of the very bad writing and execution, I mean the acting are great, cinematography were beautiful, but the storyline was just poor...

Is this a card counting movie, or is it a PTSD movie? Someone really said 'why not both?' And the gamble did not pay off.

Oscar Isaac is the only redeemable quality in this film and the fact he is still working since this film is a testament to just how good an actor he is. If an up and coming actor took this role, it would have delayed their progress in getting better roles significantly.

We can partly blame the marketing for this movie, presenting it like it's some fast paced story about the risks and rewards of counting cards. It's not that, in fact I don't even know why counting cards is even a factor. Furthermore, as explained by another reviewer, even though the opening of the movie has Oscar Isaac's character explaining why he's so good at counting cards in blackjack, he spends most of the movie playing poker... Like, what? I'm glad I'm not the only one who was confused by that.

I may be missing something, the nuance may have gone right over my head, but this movie is somehow all over the place and incredibly slow at the same time. I don't know who convinced Oscar Isaac to do this movie, perhaps the script read way better than the end result. When I say he is the only good thing about this movie, he does his very best to save the corny dialogue, and he somewhat succeeds. But barely. But honestly the draw of Oscar Isaac for me when watching his work is knowing there is no one better suited for the role. This role, however, could be played by literally anyone and I think that's one of the issues with this movie; all of the characters are so one dimensional and predictable, there is nothing special about them. Tiffany Haddish is wildly out of place, and damn, Oscar Isaac should get an award for faking chemistry because she was giving him nothing. It looked like she was trying her best, but this style of movie is not her forte.

If you want to look at Oscar Isaac for a while and not pay attention to the storyline, then sure go ahead and watch this movie. If you want to watch a good movie with Oscar Isaac in it, there are plenty of other options. All in all, you can skip this one and live your life knowing you didn't miss anything.

I suffered a heart attack because of this movie, making me leave halfway through and then i decided to fall off the ambulance and back to the movie theatre to warn people to leave the film.

Film tried to be various things but ended up depressing and pointless. It does not match the trailer. My good advice is to avoid it at all costs. Part of the premise of the film is about torture and it definitely was to watch.

The Card Counter is the movie equivalent of a high school kid who says and does things that he thinks are cool, but they're just not. Lines are delivered and actions (using that term loosely) are portrayed with such overt confidence that they almost don't seem real - like someone thinks they're more thought-provoking than they really are. There were at least a dozen scenes where it felt like I was watching an SNL sketch that was spoofing overly serious movie scenes.

I don't mind a slow burn of a movie, but that moved at a snail's pace and had no redeeming qualities besides a few songs from the soundtrack. No chemistry between love interests, no likeable protagonists, no heart-warming friendships, no motives, and no real sense of self.

The film is lifeless and you will not be glad that you watched it - you can count on that.

Verdict: Don't Watch.

A slow drawn out story until the end. Then it gets worse. No closure. A total waste of time and and brain cells. You will have to watch 10 great movies to regain the cells lost.

I don't know if the bizarre plot (which is riddled with holes) was intentional or not. I don't understand how this movie was constructed, but it had me on edge the whole way thru..meaning..about to turn it off. I kept thinking it would start to make sense or turn a corner..it never did.