Prime Video is really looking to corner the market on the old straight-to-DVD action movie. First Heads of State, Deep Cover, then The Pick Up, and now Play Dirty. Each of the films adheres to a similar premise, although the differences are enough to make them stand out from one another. The latest of that line-up, Play Dirty, finds its inspiration from the “Parker” book series, written by Richard Stark.
The film stars a stacked cast with Mark Wahlberg, LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, Keegan-Michael Key, Chukwudi Iwuji, Nat Wolff, Thomas Jane, and Tony Shalhoub. Directed by Shande Black and written for the screen by Black, Chuck Mondry, and Anthony Bagarozzi, Play Dirty follows expert thief Parker after a heist gone terribly wrong. What should have been a simple job turns ugly when one person interrupts the plans and another betrays his group.
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A basic plot propels this direct-to-streaming heist movie, and it’s not bad.
After a miraculous survival after falling off a cliff, Parker (Mark Wahlberg) finds himself pulled into he biggest heist of his life with the stability of a whole country resting on whether or not he can help steal a thing of legend. But with his old crew out of the picture, Parker leans on Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield) and Zen (Rosa Salazar) to build a skilled crew around and winds up stumbling onto a score that pits them against the New York mob.
Play Dirty does switch gears entirely as the larger ensemble cast joins the story, and we begin to see Parker pulled into saving a Latin country from a dictator by fighting with and stealing from the mob. Yes, that’s what happens, and it’s just as wild as it seems.
The film trades in heavy use of stereotypes throughout, but it’s never too offensive, nor is it looking to be. Instead, it winds up finding like an early aughts action movie but with enough self-awareness around the tropes on screen that I can’t help but appreciate it more than a little. It’s a script by white people about Latinos, but with jokes just dumb enough to work for both audiences. And I can’t be mad at it, at least after the initial eye-roll.
Play Dirty is better due to its ensemble cast, especially LaKeith Stanfield.
While Rosa Salazar and Mark Wahlberg are good for the tropes they have to play and embody, it’s really LaKeith Stanfield that stands out. Which, if you’ve ever seen Stanfield in even his worst films, shouldn’t be a surprise. As Grofield, Stanfield is funny, using both a weird vocal range and unashamed physical humor to mess with people around him.
Grofiled is the heart of the humor in Play Dirty. Where Parker is just a bad guy, and Zen is a bad guy with a cause, Grofield really just needs money for his theater to put on stage productions. And everyone he brings in fits those lines. That said, the movie doesn’t try to make anyone into any moral semblance of someone to really root for, and that makes Play Dirty well aware of who its cast is and how to play with them.
Look, is the Prime Video slate of films a lot of the same action with some comedy each time? Yes. Are they filling the direct-to-DVD void that has developed thanks to massive blockbusters dominating the cinema? Also yes. And you know what? We do need those. We need the movies with big stars performing a spectacle with good enough action to hold your attention.
Play Dirty doesn’t do anything new, but it edges on treasure hunt, and that’s not bad either.
Play Dirty has that in spades, but most importantly, the film’s body count comes out of left field and ultimately sets it apart from the entirely paint-by-numbers streaming movie you’d expect. A couple of people get thrown off buildings, some are shot without warning, while others are aware of the danger, and some top talent is only on screen for a couple of minutes.
That kind of lack of plot protection is what makes Play Dirty a fun watch despite all of its narrative issues. It’s fun, and that’s about all I can say about it, and that’s honestly all it needs to be. It’s a little long, a little weird, but a good time nonetheless.
