Good poker films are few and far between. The fictional stories are usually completely over-the-top and melodramatic (cue music as hero tosses his cards face-up on the table and walks away in slow motion before the camera pans to the felt to reveal he had a royal flush) and the documentaries typically feature people about whom we could not care less. PokerStars is aiming to fill the poker film void, releasing the trailer Friday for a documentary on Daniel Negreanu titled “Kid Poker.”
Whether or not the film is any good remains to be seen, but the trailer certainly has high production value; it looks far from amateurish. The movie will at least be enjoyable visually. It opens with a shot of Negreanu’s face, possibly waiting to be introduced on the set of a television show or at a televised final table. Fans are cheering while Negreanu provides the voice over, “I’m not surprised at where I am. I always felt that I was going to be successful at whatever I did.”
The trailer continues for another two minutes, complete with slo-mo shots of Las Vegas, comments from fellow poker pros, and old Negreanu home video clips. It previews his family’s humble beginnings, his rocky transition from local Toronto poker stud to Vegas flame-out and then subsequent rise to fame. The trailer closes with Negreanu addressing his sometimes controversial personality:
Sometimes I say things where I do cross the line and on major issues, I’ve stood alone, but I’d rather be that kind of person than someone who has no opinion at all; to avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing. And that’s not the way I live my life.
The introduction of the trailer for “Kid Poker” has received mixed reviews in the poker community. Some people are excited about it, saying things like, “Looks good, def do not agree with many things that DN says but am looking forward to watching this. Like him or not he is a charismatic controversial guy who has been successful at many forms of poker for a long time,” on Two Plus Two.
Others are neutral on Negreanu himself, but see the film as a way to get more people interested in poker. One person wrote, “i have really 0 opinion on negreanu but anything that has a marginal shot at introducing more new players to the game and prolonging its life further (e.g. this) is something to support and be marginally excited about (at least the fact that it exists if not the film itself).”
Some people, on the other hand, expect this to be more of an advertisement for both Daniel Negreanu’s brand and PokerStars as opposed to a truly interesting documentary about one of the most successful poker players of all time. As mentioned before, it remains to be seen how this will pan out, but it certainly looks good so far.
“Daniel Negreanu, the man, the legend, and the subject of a soon to be released documentary that promises to take you into the mind and soul of one of the greatest poker players to have ever graced the felt,” states the trailer’s description. “PokerStars Original Films presents KidPoker.”
