It would be hard to conjure up a more lame, poorly acted and directed and pitiful excuse for a swashbuckler film. Naturally, whenever a low-budget film is made by foreign hands and B-list actors, the result is not going to be a classic, but this is even more dreadful than expected! The plot concerns a young man (Modine) who gambles his life away in an attempt to regain the estate that his father has already lost. He loses to a woman (Dunaway) who will stop at nothing to reclaim him when he reneges on the deal. Modine is all wrong for this type of role with his contemporary gait and looks, along with his flat, monotone line delivery. Beals is also hopelessly wrong. The one saving grace is Dunaway who is her usual ultra-glamorous self, but even she can't do much with this garbage. She is flawlessly lit, coiffed and dressed, but gives a very stilted performance. The ending to this turkey must be seen to be believed as ultimately the tale takes on supernatural qualities! How anyone could cast Modine in "Cutthroat Island" after this mess is one of life's great mysteries. There are ample doses of blood and topless women to keep the unlucky viewer from turning the thing off.
Review of The Gamble
