Gamer
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alison Lohman, Amber Valetta, Gerard Butler, Kyra Sedgwick, Michael C. HallBrand: Lions Gate
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Published: 2010-01-01
DVD Release Date: 2010-01-19
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Gamer
Movie Review: Hrm... who would appreciate a movie entitled "GAMER"...?
Summary: 5 Stars
I could give a synopsis of the film but there are plenty so far. So I'll fill in where the other reviews seem to lack.
Gamer is filmed in basically 3 different settings: SLAYERS game world (think call of duty style first person shooter, very dark), SOCIETY game world (The Sims/Second Life type world, very colorful), and reality (which is nowhere near as dark or bright as the gamer world, no suprise).
In my own opinion, I think this was a gamer's game. Why? Because, first and formost, this is like the future wave of gaming, true 3 dimensional gaming (don't believe me, go look at Project Natal by Microsoft or the type of gaming Xbox envisions in the future-- THE ISLAND quite blatantly shows xbox's projections)
Yes, you had the "gratuitous violence" of SLAYERS that you would expect if it was real humans participating in the game, because that's what it is. You have the perversity in SOCIETY that is rampant in SIMS and SECOND LIFE if they could get away with it (come on, who doesn't try to get the Sims to make WooHoo at least once, be honest!) and the creepy 500lb guy pretending to be a hot young chick that EVERYONE hears about on the online world.
You have a genius human being who is a little power mad and more than just a little crazy and self absorbed. Which isn't bad until you try taking over the world. You have a hard yet loving hero who was wrongly accused. A wife from who everything was ripped away from her and lives a life of destitution and prostitution. There's even a small group of people who rebel and fight the system, trying to overthrow "the man". And there's the gamers, from the kid controlling the hero to the really creepy fat guy who play games for different reasons: fun, control, getting their kicks. But all are desensitized to the games and the fact that these are real actual people they controlling and forcing to do what they (the gamers) wish while (the gamers) themselves are safe and comfortable at home. And yes, there were some cliche moments and the side stories weren't ever really gone into exhaustive detail about. Much like cut-scenes in a video game actually. It was furthering one story line, one hero, one main plotline, to defeat one mega-boss at the very end. Try not to kill too many civilians on the way there.
It was horrifying at points. I'm not going to lie, I was seriously disturbed by SOCIETY. But isn't that what humans do? I'm not saying everyone or even a majority, but some people in society are obsessed with situations of a sexual nature and it's represented in video games (often rated M for Mature, but some slide under the radar or be easily perverted) and in real life as well (the booming porn industry). And the violence in society was that much more horrifying because the actors couldn't even protect themselves from it and the gamers controlling them didn't even bother protecting them. SLAYERS? It was pretty gory and gruesome, but the horrifying part there wasn't the slayers themselves, it was all the non-fighters who only had to survive one game for freedom. They didn't have a player to control them, couldn't defend themselves or break away from their programming. None of them ever survived or made it.
This was filmed in with RED ONE cameras, which are just freakishly amazing in the fine details (digital stills instead of 35mm, ). So visually, content aside, the shots were so detailed and amazing. One reviewer did mention about the tatoo on his arm at the beginning of the film which you couldn't read until nearer the end, but it seemed more of an intentional focus issue, as when they defocused on John Leguizamo's face severely in the jail, because he was a dead man. When the tatoo was next really shown on, it was focused on severely so that you could see and appreciate the message later on. Yes, the fact that the makers of CRANK is evidenced clearly in some scenes, so if you suffer from seizures or epilesy or anything like that, do not suggest.
And the dance scene was perfect for the character who did it by the way! Because all of it truly WAS a game to him. He didn't care about anything but seeing things happen that he wanted to see happen. (sorry, had to mention it)
If you refuse to play violent video games, avoid morally disturbing images, or wondering if this is something you want your 15 year old to see, don't. Just NO, don't watch it, don't rent it, have nothing to do with it because you will end up back at this review page leaving a bad review and you are not the intended audience (no offense).
I don't like morally disturbing images (I was kinda doing the horrified peeking-through-fingers before ducking behind my hoodie at some parts), don't really play uber violent games (I like multiplayer First Person Shooters but don't really play the campaigns or the GTA series), and I haven't been 18 for quite some time.
Who was it that said you could judge a society by the games we play? Isn't it true, at least to some degree? Or by the internet sites we visit, the people we interact with in life, and what we choose to do with the knowledge we have? Does that not have any bearing on that judgement?
I think it was an excellent movie. Not because I agreed with everything that happened in it or thought the characters/acting was superb (though the actors did a very good job in this video game of a movie). But this movie actually makes one, especially the intelligent gamers out there, think for a moment about how far we are willing to go for our entertainment. Definately worth watching.
Summary of Gamer
Gerard Butler stars as Kable, condemned criminal and globally famous super-soldier in the ultimate multiplayer game, "Slayers.? Human controllers direct each thought and move of real-life prison inmates battling in hyper-intense environments ? where the goal is freedom and the penalty is death. But when Kable suddenly decides he wants out, his rebellion threatens the twisted plans of game creator Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall, TV?s "Dexter?), who will stop at nothing to crush the renegade commando in this taut, adrenaline-packed action-thriller.Frenzied and relentlessly aggressive, Gamer seeks to translate the sensory barrage of violent video games into movie form--and does a pretty successful job. In a dystopic future, prisoners on death row are given a slim chance of survival as flesh-and-blood avatars for shoot-'em-up game players who control their very brains. The mastermind behind this game (played by Michael C. Hall, Dexter) has secret ambitions worthy of a James Bond villain, but his schemes are threatened by John Tillman (Gerard Butler, 300), the only living avatar who's survived more than a few games--so Tillman's already dangerous life turns even more deadly. Gamer revels in overkill: visual tricks abound as the action speeds up or slows down, skittering to and fro with jump cuts and flashes of light. The dialogue is a catalog of macho posturing or melodramatic exposition. The performances--from a surprising cast that includes Alison Lohman (Drag Me to Hell), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), Chris "Ludacris" Bridges (Crash), and supermodel Amber Valletta--play cartoonish characters with exuberant gusto and commitment. By conventional standards, Gamer is a terrible movie? but the movie's creators don't care, because they aspire to step beyond conventional standards. As with their previous adrenaline-driven flick Crank, the writer-director team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor want viewers to plug in, turn off their rational minds, and immerse themselves in sheer sensation. --Bret Fetzer
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