A new Shane Black movie is a momentous occasion. Play Dirty is the first movie that he’s written or directed since 2018’s The Predator. For fans of his, I’ll cut to the chase, Play Dirty is a return to form for the prolific writer/director. Play Dirty stars Mark Wahlberg as Parker, LaKeith Stanfield as Grofield, Rosa Salazar as Zen, Tony Shalhoub as Lozini, Keegan-Michael Key as Ed, Nat Wolff as Kincaid, and features Chukwudi Iwuji, Thomas Jane, Claire Lovering, and Hemky Madera. It features Black as director and he co-wrote the script with Charles Mondry and Anthony Bagarozzi.

The setup here is simple: Parker is on a job robbing a bank with his crew, and he gets set up by Zen and has to chase down his original haul while also starting a new job to rob a South American dictator, the UN, the mob, and the world’s richest man. It’s simple and simultaneously devilishly complicated. The strength of the film is in the ensemble, though. For a lot of people out there Mark Wahlberg is kind of a non-starter, but I’ll also get this out of the way, Play Dirty is easily his best role and performance in years.

So, before I get ahead of myself, let’s get to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Play Dirty.

The Good Of Play Dirty

Play Dirty is as old school as movies come these days. That old school feel is refreshing, but it also feels like a very 2025 movie for the plot and its motivations. There’s a disdain for the elite class that Shane Black injects into this film. Mark Wahlberg steps into the role of Parker perfectly. He imbues it with his own touches, but he doesn’t ever overpower the film with his performance. That’s a good thing here, because the ensemble and the plot are the most important parts of the film. That ensemble cast is on top of their game the entire time. Whether it’s Lakeith Stanfield, Keegan-Michael Key, or Rosa Salazar, everyone is hitting line drives the entire film, and it’s great.

While I won’t spoil anything about the plot and its twists and turns, the film does surprise you at points, particularly with the ending. Whatever you’re expecting from an action film in 2025, you get something different here. If you’re a fan of Shane Black and his trademarked dialogue, you’ll be in heaven with Play Dirty.

The Bad And Ugly Of Play Dirty

The only thing that I could really find that I didn’t care for in Play Dirty was that we didn’t get enough time with all of the various subplots. It’s nice to not be spoonfed every little detail about Parker and his life, but there are some subplots of the film that land better than others. All of them add up to getting to know Parker better as a character and see his own motivations, but some of the other characters could have used some time in the sun, like Grofield and the rest of the crew. Of the ensemble, LaKeith Stanfield was the one I was looking forward to the most, but he doesn’t get nearly as much to do.

That’s really all I could think of that I didn’t like about Play Dirty. The film is a breath of fresh air across the board. We don’t get action movies like this anymore, and it being the return of Shane Black is just icing on the cake. It subverts your expectations in plenty of ways while still keeping in tune with the genre.

Through it all, Play Dirty is a bombastic action film that feels both old-school and contemporary. Shane Black directs the hell of out a cast that is on top of their game the entire time (even for you Wahlberg haters out there).

Play Dirty releases on Prime Video on October 1st.

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