In Toback's film, Caan's character has this innate need for the high stakes
bet; it's ingrained into his very DNA. We don't quite get that from Wahlberg.
Jim is more like a rich brat on a bender; the kind who would scream
"affluenza" if ever called out on his bullsh*t. It's still fun to
watch the speeding train wreck that is his life, but there's no real depth
beyond that despite all of the eloquent speeches penned by writer William
Monahan. Jim is a literature professor with a single novel to his credit, but
he has no desire to see it further than that. One is enough. When his wealthy
father (George Kennedy) dies he leaves Jim absolutely nothing. We already know
he's desperate; we saw him lose everything in the opening scene. With no
prospects as an author, no desire for love, and a deep resentment for his
students, Jim turns himself wholly to games of chance. 
While director Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) captures
the seediness of the backroom poker match and the adversarial slant of
blackjack, there's a pretty big problem that he and Monahan can never quite
overcome. Jim is a hopeless case right from the start, and there's very little
arc to his story. Or at least there isn't a believable one. He continues to dig
himself further into debt, borrowing money from dangerous bookies (Michael K.
Williams, John Goodman, Alvin Ing) with quirks to spare. Goodman dominates the
screen as an eloquent purveyor of wisdom and promised acts of violence. Jim
even borrows from his rich mother (Jessica Lange) who has grown fed up with her
son's inexplicable actions. His actions don't make much sense to us, either. It
all boils down to some vague idea about masculinity, or at least it appears to
be the case. When Jim hooks up with Amy (Brie Larson), the one student he
thinks has potential, we see it as a potential life line. But that would
require she have more than the barest personality. Women rarely get a solid
break in movies like this, and Larson definitely doesn't. She and Wahlberg
simply don't click.
Wahlberg's better on his own, anyway, and his deeply skeptical attitude
about literally everything is one of the film's finer qualities. He's the kind
of professor students love to hate; his scorn for them is obvious but he's also
brilliant, calls people out on their crap, and is often right about what he
espouses. It's what makes his downward spiral so much fun to watch. He just doesn't
seem to give a rat's behind about any of it. Wyatt, kind of an odd choice to
direct a film like this, manages to ratchet up the tension in every dealt card,
every turn of the roulette wheel, aided by Theo Greene's thumping, soulful
soundtrack. The Gambler doesn't dig far below the surface of Jim's
addiction, but there's still entertainment value in watching a man go down in
flames. The house always wins in the end.
Rating: 3 out of 5
