  
Gamera.k.a. “Game,” “Citizen Game”MPAA Rating:
 for frenetic sequences of strong brutal ce throughout, sexual content, nudity and language.Reviewed by: Daniel Thompson Extremely Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:
Adults
Genre:
Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action, Drama
Length:
1 hr. 35 min.
Year of Release:
2009
USA Release:
September 4, 2009 (wide—2,300+ theaters)
DVD: January 19, 2010 
“In the near future, you don't live to play… you'll play to live.” False accusations of murder, controlling life, and the definition of reality all sound like interesting subjects for a movie. In fact, one would think that any film with these elements would require multiple layers as well as a good deal of depth. Leave it to the film makers of “Gamer” to prove that theory wrong. In this shallow and poorly made effort starring Gerard Butler of “300” fame, these intriguing elements come together as a mishmash of gore, sex, and almost incoherent dialogue leaving a film that is easily the worst movie this reviewer has seen all year. The story takes place in the near future where gaming has been taken to a completely different level. Because of the development of some high tech nano-chips that are injected into the brains of humans, gamers can now pay to dictate the actions of another person. They do so in a game called ‘Society’ where they can make people act in various social settings, and also in a game called ‘Slayers’ where death row inmates are put in war scenario ‘battles’ and are controlled by gamers. If a slayer survives 30 consecutive battles, they are given their release from prison. No one has ever earned their freedom from Slayers, but player Kable (Butler) is three battles away from doing so. The creator of this technology, Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall), is a billionaire who revels in the idea of one human controlling another. It seems there is a hidden history between Castle and Kable regarding the invention of the technology, and the ethics behind its use. The problems with “Gamer” are numerous. First of all, the story is anything but airtight. All plot reveals are either completely obvious, or seem to be made up on the spot by one character spouting off dialogue that just so happens to explain what just happened. The action sequences are shot with the ‘shaky camera’ effect but don’t mount any tension in the process. The acting is at poor at best. Gerard Butler’s work here, which consists mostly of staring really hard, makes his work in “300” look Oscar-worthy. John Leguizamo is fine, but only seen in about three scenes. Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges and Kyra Sedgwick are cardboard cutout characters, at best. The positives in the film are very few; in fact, there is only one, I can’t think of more than one. That bright spot belongs to Michael C. Hall. Known more for his roles on television shows like “Dexter” and “Six Feet Under,” Hall is diabolical as the villain and does the most with his limited screen time. Even more disconcerting for moviegoers is the amount of objectionable material in “Gamer.” The ce in the film is omnipresent, racking up a body count well into triple digits. The sexual content is extreme, with many brief glimpses of nudity mostly coming in the ‘Society’ game where people are “controlled” to have sex. For all the garbage you endure in “Gamer,” you will get very little that is redeemable. With extreme content and poor film making, there isn’t a good reason to see this film. Skip “Gamer” at all costs. Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Extreme See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.   Comments below:
Positive
Positive - The only objection I have on the film is the unnecessary sexual content and innuendo. The movie is extremely violent, as expected and intended to be, as it's about a reality game show where people actually play not characters but real people; in this case death row inmates. Obviously, the movie is based on the Stephen King (Richard Bachmann) novella made into Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “The Running Man.” It's a solid action thriller made for action fans, which is the reason I am giving it a positive rating. Negative
none Comments from young people
Negative - I live in Canada so this movie was 14a; how can a movie be 14a when there is - much swearing - intense blood and gore - and 7-8 bare breast scenese!!?!… I have to admit the violence was very entertaining, and kept you on the edge of you seat, but the rest of the movie was pointless nudity, sex, and swearing. The point of the movie is people control other people like in a video game. This means that women would just randomly walk on screen and start taking off their clothes! A few times women would just take off their bras exposing their breasts! I couldn't believe a movie this bad and pointless could be made into a movie. The extreme nudity, porn, and sex reeealy bothered me in this movie. If you didn't have all that, then it would have been a reealy great movie. …I felt really bad leaving the theatre, knowing I had seen way too much nudity… Please, if you are a strong christian, don't see this movie. Movie Critics
…The barrage of violence and virtual perversion jumbles into a frenetic, joyless experience even compared to Neveldine and Taylor’s previous projects. There should be attendants standing outside the theater with T-shirts reading, “I went to see Gamer, and all I got was a seizure and a T-shirt.” Comments from non-viewers
I have not seen this film, just yet, but I plan to. I am a gamer and have read alot about this movie. I am sure alot of people will shy away from it and thats great you should do what you need to. But if complains about it I feel then that is wrong. I seen what this movie was about and even seen the script online now. To me this movie more shows how corrupt the world can get or may even get in the future, especially when it comes to our forms of entertainment. Yes, there is a story about a man in there and all that. But I see something deeper and it should be obvious as I stated. People who say "I already know the world is bad/going to get worse and don't need to see it!", well that's no excuse really. Many people I have met especially other christians have said that yet seem very naive about the world. It saddens me that when I was in my late teens the level of “knowing” seem to drop amongst people about the world. And now everyone seems to be oblivious to issues of the world. Its no wonder we christians get picked on. We tend to shout out about things without knowing whats going on. Which is why I like this movie and want to see it. So I constantly keep myself aware of just how bad the world could and WILL be. |
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