In a world of simulation, will you play a first person shooter as Gerard Butler? Sure you would.
Gamer
starring Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick, Logan Lerman, Alison Lohman, Ludacris, Milo Ventimiglia, Zoe Bell, John Leguizamo, Keith David
Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
I’ve been looking forward to this movie ever since I saw the preview. Who doesn’t love to see a great action movie, especially with the newest Mr. Action himself Gerard Butler. However, you really can’t overlook the similarities with the recent remake Death Race. Live action death matches between convicted inmates. There was a slim possibility that this would just be a stolen idea of an action vehicle, but as it turns out, Gamer is everything that Death Race could have been and more.
In the not too distant future, entertainment mogul Ken Castle (Hall) has made himself a billionaire off of two highly popular interactives. The first is Society, where it is basically a live action version of the Sims. People play to control a person, or people are payed to be controlled. The controllees are quarentined in a players only area and they play, interact, etc. with other controlled players. Then, there is the game slayer. Same basic concept, except the controllees are convicted death row inmates. Survive 30 rounds, you get set free. These games are perfect war zones; its near impossible to survive. Only Kable (Butler) has made it 27 rounds. However, for mysterious reasons, Castle does not want him set free. He knows to much about how the Society and Slayer worlds were set up. There’s something Castle doesn’t want the world to know. An underground movement known as Humanz led by Ludacris intercedes and gets Kable exactly want he wants; a chance at freedom and to set things right.
The acting and the story are okay. Nothing spectacular. The plot is very, very jumpy; In fact, the very first scene we are thrown into a battle, wholey unaware of exactly what is going on, and thrown about much like the players on screen. There are also many plot holes and unanswered questions along the way. But, let’s be honest with ourselves; one does not go to see Gamer for a story. You go for the action and cool stunt sequences. This movie is a thing of action beauty. The fights are realistic, bloody, and violent. The tempo is set high from the get go and it never slows down through out the film. The ideas of the set up are extremely brilliant and original, and behind every turn is a new and pleasant suprise. As an action film, Gamer really packs a punch. Just don’t expect any of the dialogue or plot points to go anywhere, because, well, they don’t.
The real genius of the movie is the directors, Neveldine and Taylor. They wrote the film too, sure, but that wasn’t thier strength. The movie is wholey and completely visually arresting. Every action sequence is like watching a painted canvas move in front of your eyes. The style of the cinematography is amazing; the shots really set the tone for what’s going on around the actors, and the colors really play into the mood and the violence. My favorite example of this is a shoot out inside a rave; several ’sims’ are dancing under a black light. Some one is shot and blood sprays over the crowd, which the black light happens to turn a neon yellow. And so, splattered with neon blood, and booming music in the background, the ’sims’ just keep dancing. It’s horrifying and awesome all at once.
Wrapping up at around an hour and a half, Gamer is a compact, efficient action machine. Time isn’t wasted on thorough plot points or dramatic speeches, it is just a well oiled action sequence pounding machine. And Bravo for that. I personally think there were some mistakes made on the editing table, and some really vital stuff got left out, but you really can’t complain for the simple and direct package you get. Go see this film if you’ve got an action nerve to alleviate. Its worth the cost of the ticket. And yeah, I’ll buy it on Blu Ray because it’ll look AMAZING in High Def. Just go in not expecting anything more or anything less than one of the year’s most visually arresting action flicks.
Gamer; the Ultimate Sim Experience
In a world of simulation, will you play a first person shooter as Gerard Butler? Sure you would.
Gamer
starring Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick, Logan Lerman, Alison Lohman, Ludacris, Milo Ventimiglia, Zoe Bell, John Leguizamo, Keith David
Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
I’ve been looking forward to this movie ever since I saw the preview. Who doesn’t love to see a great action movie, especially with the newest Mr. Action himself Gerard Butler. However, you really can’t overlook the similarities with the recent remake Death Race. Live action death matches between convicted inmates. There was a slim possibility that this would just be a stolen idea of an action vehicle, but as it turns out, Gamer is everything that Death Race could have been and more.
In the not too distant future, entertainment mogul Ken Castle (Hall) has made himself a billionaire off of two highly popular interactives. The first is Society, where it is basically a live action version of the Sims. People play to control a person, or people are payed to be controlled. The controllees are quarentined in a players only area and they play, interact, etc. with other controlled players. Then, there is the game slayer. Same basic concept, except the controllees are convicted death row inmates. Survive 30 rounds, you get set free. These games are perfect war zones; its near impossible to survive. Only Kable (Butler) has made it 27 rounds. However, for mysterious reasons, Castle does not want him set free. He knows to much about how the Society and Slayer worlds were set up. There’s something Castle doesn’t want the world to know. An underground movement known as Humanz led by Ludacris intercedes and gets Kable exactly want he wants; a chance at freedom and to set things right.
The acting and the story are okay. Nothing spectacular. The plot is very, very jumpy; In fact, the very first scene we are thrown into a battle, wholey unaware of exactly what is going on, and thrown about much like the players on screen. There are also many plot holes and unanswered questions along the way. But, let’s be honest with ourselves; one does not go to see Gamer for a story. You go for the action and cool stunt sequences. This movie is a thing of action beauty. The fights are realistic, bloody, and violent. The tempo is set high from the get go and it never slows down through out the film. The ideas of the set up are extremely brilliant and original, and behind every turn is a new and pleasant suprise. As an action film, Gamer really packs a punch. Just don’t expect any of the dialogue or plot points to go anywhere, because, well, they don’t.
The real genius of the movie is the directors, Neveldine and Taylor. They wrote the film too, sure, but that wasn’t thier strength. The movie is wholey and completely visually arresting. Every action sequence is like watching a painted canvas move in front of your eyes. The style of the cinematography is amazing; the shots really set the tone for what’s going on around the actors, and the colors really play into the mood and the violence. My favorite example of this is a shoot out inside a rave; several ’sims’ are dancing under a black light. Some one is shot and blood sprays over the crowd, which the black light happens to turn a neon yellow. And so, splattered with neon blood, and booming music in the background, the ’sims’ just keep dancing. It’s horrifying and awesome all at once.
Wrapping up at around an hour and a half, Gamer is a compact, efficient action machine. Time isn’t wasted on thorough plot points or dramatic speeches, it is just a well oiled action sequence pounding machine. And Bravo for that. I personally think there were some mistakes made on the editing table, and some really vital stuff got left out, but you really can’t complain for the simple and direct package you get. Go see this film if you’ve got an action nerve to alleviate. Its worth the cost of the ticket. And yeah, I’ll buy it on Blu Ray because it’ll look AMAZING in High Def. Just go in not expecting anything more or anything less than one of the year’s most visually arresting action flicks.