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Created Jul 26, 2011 10:23PM PST • Edited Jul 02, 2014 02:18PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   Sure bets usually aren’t. For those of us who like casinos and crime movies however, Croupier is a lock. With all due respect to Martin Scorsese, it arguably tops his Casino as the quintessential casino movie.

   It centers on a croupier (dealer) in a posh London casino who looks, sounds and acts like he’s auditioning to be the next James Bond. It obsesses on table games: roulette and blackjack, with some poker thrown in. And it unspools a nifty heist that’s surprising but not outlandish. Ocean’s Eleven outrageous, it ain’t.

   Finally, it uses the proven dramatic device of the hero writing a novel based on his life, complete with extensive voiceovers describing his thoughts. As played by then little-known Clive Owen, this works like a pair of eights against the house’s 16, which is to say damn well.

   Though decidedly non-flamboyant in comparison to Casino and Ocean’s 11, 12 & 13, if you liked those movies, Croupier is a sure thing.

4. Acting

   Very Good 3.5

   A lean Clive Owen came to Hollywood’s attention in this star-making performance. Sharp and smart, he’s nonetheless unconvincing in what passes for the emotional scenes. In fairness, that may stem from his character having deadened his emotions, resolving himself to play life only by the odds.

   Gina McKee disappoints as his girlfriend. Perhaps it’s because she’s not movie-queen attractive, while he’s leading man handsome. In any case, she’s a downer, even in a fatalistic movie.

   Alex Kingston, OTOH, lights up the screen in the key supporting role of troubled roulette player with a hidden agenda. ER’s Dr. Elizabeth Corday is a natural star.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

6. Female Stars Good 3.0

7. Female Costars Good 3.0

8. Male Costars Good 3.0

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    Hard-bitten and well drawn, the film deftly profiles the people you meet in a casino – degenerate gamblers, stupid gamblers (which is to say most), crafty croupiers, flinty eyed pit bosses, connivers and blowhards.

    With novelistic precision, it pulls these players into a web of intrigue full of clever twists, many that you shoulda seen coming, but don’t.

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play Great 4.0

13. Music Very Good 3.5

14. Visuals Really Great 4.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 2.7

    For looking as good as he does, working in a casino and having no dependents, Clive Owen’s character gets remarkably little sex. Then when he does, it doesn’t get shown. Rather the intrigue around it and the ulterior motives of the women loom larger than the acts themselves.

17. Sex Titillating 2.5

18. Violence Fierce 2.5

19. Rudeness Profane 3.0

21. Reality

    Glib 1.4

    The croupier’s disdain for gamblers is bracing. He knows they’re all going to lose, not because the house cheats but because the odds are stacked in its favor. Remember that next time you lay your money down.

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.8

23. Biological Glib 1.3

24. Physical Natural 1.0