The Gambler

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The Gambler

R

Released Jan 1, 2015

1h 51m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

43%

Tomatometer

142 Reviews

31%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Literature professor Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) leads a secret life as a high-stakes gambler. Always a risk-taker, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Staying one step ahead, he pits his creditor against the operator of an illicit gambling ring while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman), a paternalistic loan shark. As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must risk everything for a second chance.

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Critics Consensus

Well-paced and reasonably entertaining in its own right, The Gambler still suffers from comparisons to the James Caan classic that inspired it.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

'The Gambler' is just shy of a great movie - it doesn't quite add up like it should - but it is a reminder that there's a very fine actor lurking in Mark Wahlberg.

Jun 7, 2016

Full Review

Stephen Romei

The Australian

This is a slick, fast-paced film that maintains its sometimes unbearable tension until the last roll of the dice.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 12, 2015

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

Despite stylish direction by Rupert Wyatt, who pulls off a few arresting set pieces, The Gambler never manages to make sense of William Monahan's often laughably overripe screenplay.

Rated: 2/5

Jan 25, 2015

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

By the end, it's difficult to care about Jim as Wahlberg represents him.

Rated: 2/4

Jul 13, 2022

Full Review

Nick Levine

NME (New Musical Express)

Potentially gripping, but never generates enough tension...

Rated: 2.5/5

May 27, 2021

Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

Wants to be a philosophical look at life's big issues, using Bennett's fall from grace as a backdrop, but in the end delivers Hollywood cynicism.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 2, 2021

Full Review

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donnie m

watching now-this is the FIRST and only movie i've seen where i like John Goodman-the look and the way he talks-he actually sounds the part- tough and REAL for the first time instead of his way too exaggerated accents and strange tones and exaggerations in other movies and i love The Righteous Gemstones but he talks so fake-same in The Conners which i do not watch

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/28/25

Full Review

Phan D

I took a keen interest in this movie, as someone who gambles millions a year..... I thought this movie was lame. In every blackjack scene, Mark is betting and doubling up every hand until he loses.... as much of a degenerate gambler as I have been...... even during a coked out weekend in Vegas with a 200k marker and splurging like crazy in the VIP room 1 on 1 with my own dealer... I never once bet 4 hands in a row doubling each hand. So the movie was just not realistic. Mark did it 3 times I think. His character didn't care about the hot girl....never cared to get laid?? Always had these theories and using 25 words a minute that you have to look up in the dictionary.... It's just too much of a movie.... Rounders was far more realistic.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/25

Full Review

Ron R

I can't even finish this. It's about someone, or something, that just wants to destroy himself and everyone around him. I don't see the point. There's not even a motive for any of it. Just totally pointless painful obliteration.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/13/25

Full Review

tom h

time and money waste

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/14/24

Full Review

James S

This movie is made for gamblers and people with gambling problems. It really resonates and is a great depiction of how one can get lost in the addiction. One of Markie marks finer works.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/14/24

Full Review

Vicki L

Good cast, but terrible writing. The main character is an awful, awful person, and it’s impossible to believe he’ll redeem himself. No point to this movie. Waste of time.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/07/24

Full Review

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Rupert Wyatt

Director

Mark Wahlberg

Jim Bennett

John Goodman

Frank

Brie Larson

Amy Phillips

Michael Kenneth Williams

Neville Baraka

Jessica Lange

Roberta

The Gambler: Official Clip - Can't Stop Gambling

3:01

The Gambler: Official Clip - Total Victory or Death

1:15

The Gambler: Official Clip - Nail Salon Beating

1:37

The Gambler: Official Clip - Pretending to Teach

2:47

The Gambler: Official Clip - F*** You

2:54

The Gambler: Official Clip - Say "I Am Not a Man"

2:20

The Gambler: Official Clip - A Genius Writer

2:55

The Gambler: Official Clip - Fixed Basketball

2:58

The Gambler: Official Clip - Pawn Shop Problem

2:36

The Gambler: Official Clip - All on Black

2:37

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Video: Mark Wahlberg Says The Gambler Is a Story of Empowerment

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Synopsis

Literature professor Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) leads a secret life as a high-stakes gambler. Always a risk-taker, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Staying one step ahead, he pits his creditor against the operator of an illicit gambling ring while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman), a paternalistic loan shark. As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must risk everything for a second chance.

Director: Rupert Wyatt
Producer: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, David Winkler
Screenwriter: William Monahan
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Closest to the Hole, Chartoff Winkler, Leverage
Rating: R (Some Sexuality/Nudity|Language Throughout)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 1, 2015, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 24, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $33.7M
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Datasat, Dolby Digital

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