Film review: Gambit

Published on 22/11/2012 14:16

MICHAEL Hoffman’s remake of the 1966 screwball caper about a cat burglar and showgirl who plan an elaborate heist has impeccable credentials.

Gambit (12A) * *

Screenwriters Joel and Ethan Coen have Oscars on the mantelpiece for Fargo and No Country For Old Men, and leading man Colin Firth deservedly collected a golden statuette for his exemplary work in The King’s Speech.

Co-star Tom Courtenay was twice shortlisted for Hollywood’s top honour for Doctor Zhivago and The Dresser, while Hoffman himself guided Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer to Oscar nominations in 2009 for The Last Station. With so much talent, what could possibly go wrong?

Everything, it seems, because Hoffman’s reworking is an unmitigated mess.

We laugh out of pity and embarrassment as the script blunders from dream sequences that suggest Harry might actually pull off his hare-brained heist to Austin Powers-style nudity. The only award Firth will be collecting is a dreaded Razzie, which salutes the worst in Hollywood film-making.