Gamer: Review

One of the most bonkers movies of this century so far was the Jason Statham action flick Crank. The writers/directors of that mad movie are back again with Gamer. Only this time, they forgot one important thing...to make a fun movie.

Set in the future, the world is now run like a giant video game, with onliners managing to control real human beings in their life choices (usually involving some depraved). The creator, an egotistical maniac (played by Dexter himself, Michael C. Hall) has introduced a new kind of gaming that has gripped everyone...Slayers, where you can actually be involved in violent war play and kill people. The star of the game is Kable (Gerard Butler) a tough ex soldier imprsioned for life, who has become the number one character in this agressive world. However, a band of hackers want to destroy this kingdom and need Kable to do it, while helping him find his missing wife.

For a basic premise it is perfectly fine. Like a modern version of The Running Man, it has plenty of strands to keep the pace up. the storyline isn't the problem. Neither is the fact that it has a strong group of actors in it. The problem is, it is just plain nasty. Neveldine and Taylor had the good sense to take Crank and send it up. Everyone knew it was nonsense but it was done in such a way that you didn't mind how extreme it got. Gamer, on the other hand, has very little humour and the level of violence comes pretty close to that of Rambo.

It leaves a very nasty taste in the mouth, and to make matters worse, most of the action is filmed with the shaky camerawork that every director feels is necessary for this type of movie, so you never really see what is going on. Crank had some clever use of camerawork, this doesn't and it becomes stale even before it begins.

The guys have surrounded themselves with a strong cast of actors and then give them nothing to do. Kyra Sedgwick, Alison Lohman, John Leguizamo all appear and are all very competent, but are given very little with their characters. Even Butler, who runs around shooting everything in sight, is left short changed. Only Hall, who relises playing the villain, takes opportunity to ham things up and is about the only highlight of the dreadful piece.

Loud rock music pumps out of every set piece, signalling the start of another violent onslaught, and I can only imagine the type of audience this film will appeal to...those who are playing the game.
This is a poor excuse for an action movie and in you have any sense whatsoever, then you will stay well away, and just hope that Neveldine and Taylor can get back to creating something as much fun as Crank, because this is far from it.
1/5