The Gambler

Play trailer

The Gambler

R

2015

1h 51m

Crime

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

06/07/2016

'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.

Go to Full Review

Stephen Romei

The Australian

02/12/2015

3/5

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

Go to Full Review

Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

01/25/2015

2/5

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.

Go to Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

07/13/2022

2/4

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

Go to Full Review

Nick Levine

NME (New Musical Express)

05/27/2021

2.5/5

Potentially gripping, but never generates enough tension...

Go to Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

02/02/2021

3/5

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.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Nicholas B

@CoolRuler Jan 3

The movie tried so hard to be smart and clever that it forgot to be interesting and entertaining.

See more

thiago s

@Thiagostone Oct 14

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

See more

donnie m

Apr 28

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

See more

Phan D

01/23/2025

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.

See more

Ron R

01/13/2025

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.

See more

tom h

08/14/2024

time and money waste

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

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 - All on Black

2:37

The Gambler: Official Clip - Pawn Shop Problem

2:36

View more videos

The Drop

88%

76%

The Drop

Watchlist

American Hustle

92%

74%

American Hustle

Watchlist

Foxcatcher

88%

66%

Foxcatcher

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Foxcatcher

Killing Them Softly

74%

45%

Killing Them Softly

Watchlist

Cop Killers

83%

65%

Cop Killers

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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

Most Popular at Home Now