Player 5150 (2008)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

David Michael O'Neill

Writers:

David Michael O'Neill (writer)
Shawn T (story)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

A day trader (Embry) and his fiancée (Robertson) get caught up in high stakes gambling. |

Plot Keywords:

Gambling | Mob | Beautiful Woman | Number In Title

Cast

Kelly Carlson	...	Lucy
Kathleen Robertson	...	Ali
Christopher McDonald	...	Tony
Bob Gunton	...	Nick
Angela Little	...	Jenny Starz (as Angela Little Mackenzie)
Elaine Hendrix	...	Mrs. Lanzelin
Ethan Embry	...	Joey
Bob Sapp	...	Beno
Sandra Taylor	...	Concierge Dianne
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Ben-Victor	...	Jimmy
Larry Braggs	...	Lounge Singer
Michael Bretten	...	Dwight's High School Friend (as Michael Robert)
Brett Davern	...	Mike
Nick D'Egidio	...	Banquet Singer
Jim DePue	...	Cop #2
Jim Dunning	...	Tommy
Scott Eastwood	...	Brian (as Scott Reeves)
Sonya Eddy	...	Parking Enforcement
Wesley Eskildsen	...	Gary Brant
David Graham-Costain	...	Mr. Delgado
Christopher Jude	...	Blackjack Dealer
Victoria Keyes	...	Jane Brandt
Stephen Lattimer	...	Federal Officer #1
Andrew C. Lim	...	Tommy (Asian #1)
Daniel Lue	...	Kato - Asian #2
Peter Mackenzie	...	Mr. Barman
Patrick Mapel	...	Dwayne
Bonnie McNeil	...	Carolyn
Timothy McNeil	...	Killer
Sean O'Bryan	...	Jerry
Zoran Radanovich	...	Zoran
Wes Robinson	...	Dwight
Vyto Ruginis	...	Governor Elect Lanzelin
Brian H. Scott	...	FBI Agent
Albie Selznick	...	Phil
Eve Sigall	...	Franny
Billy Smith	...	Detective
Skip Stellrecht	...	Investigator #1
Kelly Taylor	...	Police Officer
Oleg Vidov	...	Russian Dignitary
Ann Walker	...	Mrs. Delgado
Ann Walker	...	Mrs. Delgado
Renee Wilson	...	Deb
Tom Yi	...	Asian Investigator #2

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and drug use.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Azurelite Pictures

Player 5150 - Delivers a Gripping Action-Based Drama

Player 5150 is a great film for the authenticity it brings to screen. A rare gem in the rough. By comparison to all the special-effect driven overblown budged movies being released today, Player 5150 is a character-driven story that takes you through every range of emotion. David O'Neill (Writer/Director) does a great job inviting you, no daring you, to identify with the main character Joey, (Ethan Embry) who is a compulsive gambler and whose life is about to spin out of control. As you do, you experience a taste of that "unique rush of excitement" that a real gambler feels when they are up and are winning, but when luck runs out, the finality of what it means to lose hits home and the darker side of gambling emerges.

Enter Tony (Christopher McDonald) a ruthless no non-sense loan shark. In my opinion, I thought McDonald delivered an award winning performance along with Bob Gunton (Nick) in showing the raw, gritty, and sadistic reality found on the losing side of the coin of gambling. Where gamblers gamble for the thrill and the rush, loan sharks are about greed. As you travel along at 200 mph with Joey in the fast-lane of a gambler's life, McDonald is the proverbial brick-wall-reality-check smiling sadistically back at you as you slam into him. A gripping performance was delivered also by Kathleen Robertson (Ali), who played Joey's wife giving us insight on what it is like being in love with someone who has a self-destructive addiction.

My only criticism would be about the ending. I felt that this movie could have had any number of endings and it would have been alright, but it seemed like an ending couldn't be decide upon so they creatively worked them all in somehow. For me, it made the ending fuzzy and gray instead of a bold clear contrast which made the rest of the movie gripping and powerful.

As an overall experience, I enjoyed watching the movie very much. It kept you constantly leaning forward in anticipation of what would happen next. If you enjoy fast-pace action-drama and character-driven stories, then highly recommend Player 5150 as it delivers.