GAMER

GAMER (Lionsgate)
Directed by Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor

It’s funny how far video games have come. Back when I was growing up, I played on systems like the original Atari console, Nintendo and then Sega Genesis. And as games got more intelligent, so did the console, and now when you look back at this vintage games and/or console, you almost laugh given how far we have come. And unlike Hollywood where you relish the classics and often look back in history; with gaming, you just move forward, plain and simple. Now, I’m sure there are still some lost souls playing the old 6th generation Playstation 2 or original XBOX, but given the new content and multi-media functionality of the next generation consoles like Playstation 3 and XBOX 360, why live in the past? In the past 8 years, alone, we have seen a jump in this industry, and frankly, I doubt people realize just how big it has become. It’s so big, that films are being based off video games and vice versa. That’s no small feat, and it’s been this way for several years now, begging the question of if it will stop? Fact is, these films don’t offer up a whole lot and most of the time fall flat on their face, but with all the gamers out there, they still pull in enough money at the box office to keep going. And although GAMER is not based off any specific game, it’s a prime example of this notion, one of which that should have and could have been much better, if a little more thought could have been put into it.

The year is 2034 and what used to be a somewhat civilized world, has transformed into a mind-bending culture obsessed with technology where people would rather spend their time controlling someone else, than their own self. And the newest way of doing this is with the multiplayer game, Slayers, where ordinary gamers can pick and control real death row inmates in radical death matches. And during this year, you have a death row inmate dubbed Kable (Gerard Butler), who has been working his way toward freedom, as one you get to 30; you get released back into the world. Not a bad gig if you are as crazy and determined as Kable and thus far, there has been no one to get this far, 27 matches down and only 3 to go. Just living through this kind of punishment has made Kable an overnight sensation, where each match he is in is broadcasted in PPV, for the entire world to see. But, Kable is far from alone, as his personal gamer controlling him, Simon (Logan Lerman), has helped get him this far, and for Simon, this would be his greatest achievement at just 17 years old. So, as the two play and fight for different reasons, a virus hacks into the video mainstreams broadcasting a message to Simon, offering up the option for him to communicate with Kable, while in-game. Of course, such an ability was forbidden, but when someone gets to Kable on the inside, warning him the video game mastermind, Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall) was out to kill him, all hell breaks loose, leading to a wild and mind-bending chase for freedom, which in the end wasn’t as simple as it seemed, surprising you in all the wrong ways.

Do we really care who was in this? I mean, typically, a cast is worth noting, even if they are terrible, but when it comes to a film in this genre, I could care less who was playing whom. That being said, Gerard Butler seems to never take a day off, as he can be found in almost anything these days, I swear it was just last month when he was starring in THE UGLY TRUTH, a film nothing like this one. But, he is a talent and one that should maybe do better picking his roles, as this one was dead before it ever started. He made the most of it here, but when the script is so jumbled up, why bother? The action is all that matters in a film like GAMER, so no matter who the lead is, it won’t change how you feel after watching it. That’s a simple fact and why mentioning anyone else in this film would be a waste of time, so I won’t.

With any film like GAMER, there’s really just one thing to judge, and that’s the action and special effects. You almost have to ignore the cast, as it usually doesn’t matter too much and most of time, they are only there to look good and break up the action. Taking all that into account before watching this, I went in with absolutely no expectations, hoping to see some extreme action and CGI-driven effects. For the most part, I got exactly that, as several times I was impressed with the cinematography and camerawork by co-director’s Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. But, there were times where I was scratching my head, not believing they actually had the nerve to put something so ludicrous in their film. The entire side feature of this game called Society within this film did nothing to support the overall premise to this film and frankly, could have been left out completely if you ask me. I guess they needed something else to be the filler, in-between all the action sequences, but it was anything but helpful and overall was a joke to watch. So, where the action may have shined at times, the circus at which the rest of the film played in made you want to walk out, but I guess that’s a gamble you take when sitting down to watch a film like this. Maybe I should commend the producers and directors for making such an unexplainable feature film, one at which I still can’t wrap my head around. Or, maybe I should just forget about the whole thing, like it never happened. Either way, time was spent and possibly wasted on a film that frankly, had a chance to be better if more time was spent on it.

GAMER won’t appeal to many, but for those that are curious to see how far technology could go in the future, no matter how stupid the notion, I encourage you to check this out for it combines the “real” world and the “imaginary” world thru gaming, at which so many tend to get caught up in; hoping to forget what’s really going on outside the confines of their home.

C+