Prime Video’s Play Dirty Review: Shane Black Delivers A Busy But Slick And Fun Christmas Heist With The Return Of Parker

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I don’t really do traditional Christmas celebrations, but I have a yearly tradition of watching Shane Black’s movies! Ever since he broke into Hollywood in the mid-1980s with the script for Lethal Weapon, he’s loved setting his action films during the holidays. He realized that time of year just adds a unique, heightened feel to everything – it’s become a signature element in almost all of his work. He kept including it in his screenplays throughout the 90s – like in The Last Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight – and he continued when he started directing, with movies like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3. (I also always include The Nice Guys in my marathon, because of that final scene set in late December!)

Play Dirty

Release Date: October 1, 2025
Directed By: Shane Black
Written By: Shane Black, Charles Mondry, and Anthony Bagarozzi collaborated on the script.
Starring: The film features Mark Wahlberg, Rosa Salazar, LaKeith Stanfield, Keegan-Michael Key, Clair Loverling, Chai Hansen, Nat Wolff, Thomas Jane, Gretchen Mol, Chukwudi Iwuji, and Tony Shaloub.
Rating: This movie is rated R due to strong violence, frequent strong language, and some mature content including sexual situations and nudity.
Runtime: The film has a running time of 125 minutes.

It’s probably clear by now that I really enjoy this particular type of movie, and I’m always excited to see more of it – and this year, that’s happened early with Play Dirty: Shane Black’s attempt to adapt Donald E. Westlake’s (also known as Richard Stark’s) famous thief Parker for the big screen. While the story isn’t *perfect* due to some overly complicated plot points, it’s still enjoyable because of Black’s trademark style, witty dialogue, and a great cast who fully embrace the thrilling, somewhat dangerous story.

The film immediately places us in a realistic world, building on the tense relationship between the lone wolf Parker (Mark Wahlberg) and the powerful, New York criminal organization called The Outfit. It opens with Parker completing a lucrative heist, only to be double-crossed by someone on his team (I won’t reveal who to avoid spoilers). He narrowly escapes this betrayal and vows to avenge a deceased friend’s wife. While pursuing the traitor, he finds himself entangled in a much larger, potentially more rewarding scheme.

When a South American dictator discovers a centuries-lost shipwreck filled with treasure, a secret plot emerges. He intends to use the riches for personal gain, leaving his citizens impoverished. However, a group of rebels develops a plan to seize the treasure before he can sell it off privately. Parker, along with his team (LaKeith Stanfield, Keegan-Michael Key, Clair Loverling, Chai Hansen), has the expertise to accomplish this daring heist – but accepting the mission means violating an agreement with Lozini (Tony Shalhoub), the leader of The Outfit, to remain outside his territory.

Play Dirty’s script struggles to workaround movie-goers’ familiarity with the heist genre, and it tries to do too much.

Shane Black enjoys crafting intricate mysteries, as seen in films like The Long Kiss Goodnight with its deceptive operation, the Hollywood murder in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and the corporate scandal in The Nice Guys. However, his latest effort, Play Dirty – co-written with Charles Mondry and Anthony Bagarozzi – tries to do too much and ultimately feels convoluted. You can tell the filmmakers were aiming to surprise viewers accustomed to typical heist movies – but rather than offering unexpected turns, the film relies on adding twist upon twist, creating a shaky and unstable narrative.

Adding insult to injury, it’s still not terribly hard to see some of its bigger surprises coming.

There is a great mix of massive action set pieces and fun, dark bits.

Play Dirty isn’t as groundbreaking as you might expect from a director as skilled as Shane Black, but he still excels at creating thrilling and enjoyable action sequences. These scenes often include unusual and surprising moments that keep things interesting. The movie immediately showcases this unique style – beginning with a robbery disrupted by someone taking advantage of the situation, which then turns into a car chase that interferes with a horse race – and these inventive ideas continue throughout, even as the story becomes a little shaky. The film maintains a consistently clever and amusing vibe, both in grand schemes like intentionally derailing a train full of trash and in smaller details, such as a man engulfed in flames attempting to extinguish himself in a pool that’s unexpectedly electrified.

Shane Black’s ear for dialogue is as sharp as ever.

Naturally, a hallmark of Shane Black’s films is the fantastic chemistry between characters – it’s something he consistently delivers. Because this movie focuses on a group effort and Parker is a loner, it doesn’t *force* that kind of partnership, but there’s still a lot of lively interaction in key scenes and some truly memorable characters. Each actor brilliantly handles the script’s witty dialogue and clever exchanges.

Mark Wahlberg and Rosa Salazar have strong chemistry together, with Salazar playing a rebel who seeks Parker’s assistance but struggles to gain his confidence. LaKeith Stanfield is particularly impressive as Grofield, an actor who turns to crime to finance his unconventional theater projects. Although Chai Hansen’s Stan is remarkably foolish and unskilled, making him an unlikely member of the crew, his antics provide some of the film’s most humorous scenes.

In the world of Shane Black’s Christmas films, Play Dirty isn’t his best work, but it’s a good example of him doing what he does best (Black and Westlake/Stark work wonderfully together) and delivering an enjoyable movie. While it could have been even better with a more original take on the heist genre, it’s still a reliably fun entry in the category.

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2025-09-30 19:39