Mark Wahlberg teases his upcoming film Play Dirty. The crime thriller written and directed by Shane Black stars Wahlberg as a thief named Parker who takes on an ambitious heist, with the character being adapted from a series of novels written by Donald Westlake under the pen name Richard Stark. In addition to Wahlberg, Play Dirty‘s cast includes Rosa Salazar, Dermot Mulroney, LaKeith Stanfield, Tony Shalhoub, Keegan-Michael Key, and Chukwudi Iwuji.

While speaking with Collider, Wahlberg compared Play Dirty to The Italian Job and Heat. He shared his enthusiasm for being part of the heist film and said that it was a rewarding project to star in between the story, tone, and genre, along with Black’s direction and writing. Wahlberg also compared Play Dirty to another iconic action film as he expressed how much he enjoyed bringing the film to life. Check out Wahlberg’s comments below:

For me, it’s like “The Italian Job” meets “Heat.” It’s got the action, it’s got the high stakes, it’s got the humor, it’s got these great characters, the best Shane Black dialogue. I waited a long time to get a script like that. Any time we talked about, “Okay, what’s the kind of movie you wanna do as an actor if we’re talking a big, giant commercial movie?” And “Lethal Weapon” is always right there, and some of the other films that Shane has written, so I couldn’t have been more happy. Hopefully he was as happy as I was with the experience.

Play Dirty Could Be Mark Wahlberg’s Best-Received Project In Years

Most Of His Movies Have Received Rotten Tomatometer Scores Since 2020

While Wahlberg continues to bring plenty of star power to all of his projects, the actor’s films have not been received well by critics in recent years. Wahlberg’s most recent film, Netflix original The Union, has so far received a 44% critical score and 30% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. His only movie since 2020 to not receive a rotten Tomatometer score is Arthur the King, but only at 70%, although it fared much better with general audiences, who gave it a 97%.

If Play Dirty is on par with the films Wahlberg compares it to – The Italian Job, Heat, and Lethal Weapon – it will likely be Wahlberg’s best-received film in several years. Whether it’s an action heist film like The Italian Job, the highly quotable action comedy The Other Guys, or a crime thriller like The Departed, Wahlberg often does his best work as an action star. Play Dirty also has the benefit of a strong writer-director and star-studded cast surrounding Wahlberg.

Iwuji played one of the most memorable supervillains in recent years as the High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Key’s comedic talent is unparalleled, and Shalhoub is always phenomenal, regardless of the role he plays. Black has extensive experience writing and directing action comedies, and has not had a new film in several years, making Play Dirty all the more intriguing. If Play Dirty is as promising as Mark Wahlberg teases it to be, it could be his best-received film of the 2020s.

Source: Collider