Name : Kristin Tillotson / Alias : Minneapolis Star Tribune
A string of powerful performances, particularly Wahlberg's, and a killer soundtrack - including M83, Dinah Washington and St. Paul & the Broken Bones - redeem a middling entertainment gambit.

Name : Stephen Whitty / Alias : Newark Star-Ledger
If someone is really that intent on self-destruction, why should we be his audience?

Name : Mark Olsen / Alias : Los Angeles Times
By suppressing Wahlberg's more typical sparkling unpredictability, this new reading of the character recasts him into someone more frustrating than free.

Name : A.A. Dowd / Alias : AV Club
Blackjack is more of a noose than a needle for this self-destructive blowhard, and if that sounds less dramatic than the tale of a man who just can't walk away from the table, it is significantly funnier.

Name : Stephanie Merry / Alias : Washington Post
Watching a hostile pessimist purposefully sabotaging his own good fortune just isn't as fun as it sounds.

Name : Bilge Ebiri / Alias : New York Magazine/Vulture
As The Gambler becomes less about its protagonist's dashed intellectualism and more about the gathering danger of his predicament, the film gains power.

Name : Calvin Wilson / Alias : St. Louis Post-Dispatch
In a role that would have been ideal for Tom Cruise in psycho mode, Wahlberg is merely OK. Unfortunately, the film's effectiveness turns on whether we buy into his angst.

Name : Peter Travers / Alias : Rolling Stone
The hopeful ending comes off as too little, too late. Wahlberg gives the role his all, but sticking with him is a futile gesture. The Gambler never pays off. It's a sucker's bet.z

Name : Chris Nashawaty / Alias : Entertainment Weekly
The one bit of good news is that the first Gambler is currently streaming on Netflix. Do yourself a favor and watch that one instead.

Name : Todd McCarthy / Alias : Hollywood Reporter
In nearly every scene, Wahlberg carries off the central role with what could be called determined elan.

Name : Kyle Smith / Alias : New York Post
This remake of the 1974 James Caan film written by James Toback . crackles with mordant cynicism.

Name : Rene Rodriguez / Alias : Miami Herald
The Gambler is about the torturous dissatisfaction some people feel when they've managed to do everything right but still don't feel fulfilled

Name : Barbara VanDenburgh / Alias : Arizona Republic
The return is as miniscule as the stakes.

Name : Peter Howell / Alias : Toronto Star
This certainly is one driven narrative. Wahlberg reportedly lost 60 lbs. for the role, and his gaunt look makes Jim seem all the more haunted as he repeatedly throws away vast sums on games of chance.

Name : Liam Lacey / Alias : Globe and Mail
Slick but slight, The Gambler is an unnecessary remake of a well-regarded 1974 film.

Name : Rex Reed / Alias : New York Observer
Another wet battery about a week in the life of a gambling addict.

Name : Alonso Duralde / Alias : TheWrap
It's no mystery why actors and directors want to relive the magic of American studio movies from the fabled 1970s, but if you're not going to take the risks that the originals did, or illuminate as much about the characters, why redo them at all?

Name : Rafer Guzman / Alias : Newsday
Low on action and tension, long on grand speeches. Wahlberg gets an A for effort in an unlikely role.

Name : Elizabeth Weitzman / Alias : New York Daily News
Whether Wahlberg's been miscast or misdirected, we never buy him as a desperate addict. Still, the movie is so quick and cool that for much of the time, we barely notice how little is actually at stake.

Name : Manohla Dargis / Alias : New York Times
What's mostly missing from "The Gambler" is a sense of why Jim is so insistent on squandering his money, privilege and patrimony.

Name : Claudia Puig / Alias : USA Today
The Gambler is a hollow, overwrought and glibly cynical remake of a '70s drama about a self-destructive academic.

Name : Moira MacDonald / Alias : Seattle Times
A dull, self-consciously arty wallow in the messed-up life of a character we don't care about.

Name : Peter Keough / Alias : Boston Globe
It's just like the Kenny Rogers song says: "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em." It's time for this "Gambler" to walk away.

Name : Stephanie Zacharek / Alias : Village Voice
Wyatt . brings some bristly, swaggering energy to the thing, and that in turn may have loosened Wahlberg up: He's both more intense and freer than he's been in years.

Name : Jocelyn Noveck / Alias : Associated Press
We didn't really care enough about Jim to be invested in his ultimate fate.

Name : James Berardinelli / Alias : ReelViews
The Gambler is a solid remake - a film that retraces the path of the original while carving out its own identity.

Name : Andrew O'Hehir / Alias : Salon.com
An agreeable if ridiculous slice of old-school Hollywood machismo .

Name : Justin Chang / Alias : Variety
There's enough swaggering cynicism for three pictures but barely enough soul to sustain even one in Rupert Wyatt's "The Gambler," a stylish, energetic but disappointingly glib remake of Karel Reisz's still-potent 1974 drama of the same title.

Name : Tirdad Derakhshani / Alias : Philadelphia Inquirer
Despite terrific, witty performances by Williams and Goodman, most of the talent is wasted in this picture.