The Card Counter

Focus Features | Release Date: September 10, 2021

6.6	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 76 Ratings

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BruceiscontentSep 22, 2021

The Card Counter is essentially another First Reformed, but without any of the qualities that made the latter brilliant. Isaac is good, but the plot is so contrived that his performance feels wasted. I’m not buying Haddish as the loveThe Card Counter is essentially another First Reformed, but without any of the qualities that made the latter brilliant. Isaac is good, but the plot is so contrived that his performance feels wasted. I’m not buying Haddish as the love interest either. They don’t have nearly enough chemistry, and her playfulness comes across as jarring next to Isaac, who is doing his best brooding Joaquin Phoenix impression.

Willem Dafoe, who could’ve brought some much needed color to the film, appears on screen for barely five minutes of the excruciatingly paced runtime. By the way, this movie is an absolute SLOG.

I appreciate the symbolism, the social commentary, and all that jazz, but it’s just not interesting to watch. It’s almost like Isaac exists within a different film, while everything else around him struggles to keep up. When it does pick up, there’s a handful of striking scenes and then it just ends. While there’s some shock value in the final stretch, it doesn’t make up for the snail’s pace of the first hour.

I can’t imagine anyone “enjoying” The Card Counter unless you like your movies immensely allegorical and boring.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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TVJerrySep 16, 2021

Paul Schrader is known for writing intimate character studies about people on the periphery haunted by their past. This time, a glum and intense Oscar Isaac plays the low-key, low-stakes gambler who goes from playing 21 to poker tournamentsPaul Schrader is known for writing intimate character studies about people on the periphery haunted by their past. This time, a glum and intense Oscar Isaac plays the low-key, low-stakes gambler who goes from playing 21 to poker tournaments with the help of a handler (Tiffany Haddish playing it straight but holding on to some of her personality). He also teams up with a troubled young man (Tye Sheridan continuing his impressive career). One key aspect of Shrader is his use of voiceover to relay crucial info. It gives an intimate feel but also imparts a feeling of introspective narcissism. This film glimpses into the world of casino professionals, while establishing some relationships and glimpses of his haunted history. It's interesting, introspective, but a bit pretentious if you view it from the wrong angle and ultimately, lacking much emotional power.

[usr =3.0]… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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EisensteinOct 10, 2021

Solid, traditional movie-making. Acting was good, pace was slow/deliberate. But the scene set ups at times felt forced or exposed: back and forth Medium Close Ups during conversations, felt like the lines weren't in conversation but each shotSolid, traditional movie-making. Acting was good, pace was slow/deliberate. But the scene set ups at times felt forced or exposed: back and forth Medium Close Ups during conversations, felt like the lines weren't in conversation but each shot during the actor's MCU or CU. At times it felt like a student "continuity" edit assignment. The ending was not satisfying. There were some questionable "real world" issues (like, how long does it take to drive from Panama City FLA to Virginia?). And there's a difference between a military prison for crimes committed in military and a state or federal prison for criminal offenses.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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benjanzenNov 25, 2021

thought the Card Counter was excruciatingly patient and slow paced, making it a drag to sit through. It’s an uninteresting story populated by undeveloped and flat characters. Though it picks up some steam as it goes along, I never quite foundthought the Card Counter was excruciatingly patient and slow paced, making it a drag to sit through. It’s an uninteresting story populated by undeveloped and flat characters. Though it picks up some steam as it goes along, I never quite found myself invested.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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InTrippyEntropySep 20, 2021

Oscar Isaac plays a former Army interrogator who is playing with the idea of getting revenge on a cruel man from his past. Isaac is great as always. I can't say the same for Tiffany haddish. She doesn't quite, but almost ruins every sceneOscar Isaac plays a former Army interrogator who is playing with the idea of getting revenge on a cruel man from his past. Isaac is great as always. I can't say the same for Tiffany haddish. She doesn't quite, but almost ruins every scene she's in. When it comes to Comedy, she's the best. But when it comes to drama, she's too twitchy and doesn't seem to know which way to play a scene. This movie is so low-key that it barely has a heartbeat. What we want to see is a story arc where a man who has come to terms with his bad deeds, slowly convinces himself to do justice to a bad man. But most of the movie concerns itself with his quiet life as a card counter. And his relationship with the young man who is pushing him to violence. It's not bad. But you lose interest about halfway through.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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UncleWillardDec 12, 2021

While I enjoyed Isaacs performance and the cool, disconnected portrayal of a gambler who has seen some **** this ultimately went nowhere. Reminded me of Rounders, but without the tight plot. Sheridan is just there and Haddish, per usual, isWhile I enjoyed Isaacs performance and the cool, disconnected portrayal of a gambler who has seen some **** this ultimately went nowhere. Reminded me of Rounders, but without the tight plot. Sheridan is just there and Haddish, per usual, is terrible. I really don't see why she is in anything, let alone everything these days. She's not attractive, she can't act, and she sounds like she smokes a carton of Camel non-filters every day. She's also bowlegged so when she tries to make a sexy entrance, all I can think of is Red Foxx. Nothing more pathetic than a woman who is not sexy acting like she is. Her and Isaac have zero chemistry. Dafoe is criminally underutilized. I didn't care for First Reformed either. In fact, Taxi Driver was the only thing of Schrader's I've liked.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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MetacriticOnurSep 16, 2021

admirable
[ ad-mer-uh-buhl ]

adjective
worthy of admiration; inspiring approval, reverence, or affection.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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imthenoobJul 17, 2022

The Card Counter tries so hard to capture the magic that made First Reformed so good without trying to be its own unique experience. Isaac does a great job as the lead and is the only reason to really give this movie a shot. I feel like theThe Card Counter tries so hard to capture the magic that made First Reformed so good without trying to be its own unique experience. Isaac does a great job as the lead and is the only reason to really give this movie a shot. I feel like the movie explores too little, features some rather uninteresting characters, and ends up in a pattern of predictability that makes fall flat at times. I expected better.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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3ebfan511Jun 19, 2022

Great performance by Oscar Isaac in a flawed film. Its just terribly slow, and therefore not very entertaining. It is dark, and mysterious, and does make you want to keep watching, to some degree, but it took me a 2nd viewing to finishGreat performance by Oscar Isaac in a flawed film. Its just terribly slow, and therefore not very entertaining. It is dark, and mysterious, and does make you want to keep watching, to some degree, but it took me a 2nd viewing to finish it...waiting, hoping...expecting...some kind of payoff at the end. It has an ending. But I wouldn't say it was worth the run time to get there.

The biggest issues are the slow pace, and the wierd dialogue and character choices. The film and premise had much potential but what you end up with is a great peformance, an interesting premise, but an under-whelming film. Only watch if you have the patience to see a slow brooding mystery. Isaac's performance is worth seeing for those with the patience, but the film should have been far better.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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Brent_MarchantMar 2, 2022

There's no mistaking a film made by writer-director Paul Schrader. The signature look, feel, mood and subject matter of his pictures are easy to spot, readily characterizing the singular style of this veteran filmmaker. The problem with that,There's no mistaking a film made by writer-director Paul Schrader. The signature look, feel, mood and subject matter of his pictures are easy to spot, readily characterizing the singular style of this veteran filmmaker. The problem with that, however, is that, over time, his movies have increasingly begun to run together -- easily distinguishable collectively but less so individually, especially as the filmmaker's output has aggregated over several decades, And that's the primary issue with this offering, one whose ambiance, themes and troubled protagonist have all been seen before in many of his previous works, despite a change of venue from prior works. As a storyteller who generally delves into the darker side of life. Schrader does so here again with this tale of a former special forces intelligence officer who is prosecuted and imprisoned for war crimes during intensely inhumane interrogations. During his 8-year incarceration, with plenty of time on his hands, he learns how to become an expert gambler/card counter, a skill that he parlays into a lucrative lifestyle upon his release. But the enigmatic loner is haunted by his past, particularly when he meets the son of a deceased colleague bent on getting revenge against a superior whom he believes was responsible for his father's death, a plan the high-stakes card shark tries to discourage. What's odd here, though, is the narrative's pervasive ambiguity, which initially keeps viewers engaged but tends to grow tiresome as the story progresses and resolution remains elusive. This tendency clearly shows that there's a big difference between cultivating suspense and remaining perpetually and inexplicably cryptic, particularly when its comes to discerning the characters' (and even the picture's) motivations. Except for occasional voiceover hints that are dangled before viewers, the intents driving the protagonist remain largely obscured with a definitive lack of satisfactory resolution. That's unfortunate given the fine lead performance of Oscar Isaac, as well as the film's superb stylish cinematography (unexpected for subject matter that wouldn't seem likely to lend itself to such treatment) and unusual location settings. The production works reasonably well as a character study, but, as a thriller/revenge tale, "The Card Counter" comes up decidedly short. Perhaps that's due to the director having over-mined the material he draws from as a screenwriter and filmmaker. Or perhaps it's a case of not being able to adequately define and express what he wants to say. In either case, however, this is one bet worth hedging given the underwhelming hand that the director is trying to play.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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RalfbergsFeb 20, 2022

In my view it was a pretty boring movie - while yes the idea behind the plot was not bad, the movie feels so stretched out and boring - so many parts of it just characters walking for many seconds or doing something not that important. AlsoIn my view it was a pretty boring movie - while yes the idea behind the plot was not bad, the movie feels so stretched out and boring - so many parts of it just characters walking for many seconds or doing something not that important. Also some of the poker doesn't feel like realistic plus it is not really even about gambling that much (I get that they put it like analogy, but anyway)… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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