Gamer Review

Any kid who plays video games has been told at one point or another, “Video games are melting your brain.” What if those games could blow that brain right out of their head?

Gamer is a science fiction action film from director Mark Neveldine. In the year 2034, internet gaming has evolved from simply being a hobby in people’s free time to being a way of life. A man by the name of Ken Castle, played by Michael C. Hall (TV’s Dexter), has become a billionaire by creating a massively successful online game called “Slayers.” The game revolutionizes video gaming in the sense that instead of controlling a computer-generated character, the player controls a human being in full-scale combat. All of the humans being controlled are convicts who have volunteered to participate in the game. The government has made them a deal: if they can survive thirty rounds of “Slayers,” their crimes will be pardoned and they will be released from prison. Until Kable, played by Gerard Butler (300), no one had survived even fifteen games, much less the twenty seven that he has lasted. Castle can not allow Kable to go free; Kable knows too much of the true history of “Slayers,” and the game soon becomes a race to escape.

Anyone who enjoys loud, nonstop, explosive action movies will most likely enjoy Gamer. From beginning to end, the movie is riddled with gunfights, explosions, and violence. Gore abounds in the movie, as well; there are about as many instances of flying limbs and blood splatter as there are characters in the movie. Many casual viewers may find this violence a bit excessive, but action junkies will not be disappointed.

The simple plot of the movie allows Gerard Butler to do what he does best: kill people. Gamer knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything it’s not: it is an action movie through and through, and it succeeds. The plot sets up the chaos perfectly: people try to kill Kable, Kable kills them instead. Gerard Butler plays the action hero role well. With little dialogue, rugged looks, and a gruff voce, he displays a natural comfort in the field of action movies.

That being said, the movie isn’t flawless. Gamer has little to nothing for those who don’t enjoy action movies. The plot does nothing more than reinforce the movie’s action sequences, so those looking for a conspiracy movie with an engaging plot are completely left out in the cold.

It is generally common sense when making a movie that if the director is able to get multiple popular actors, those actors should be utilized to their full potential. This is not the case with Gamer. Its star-studded cast is merely in the movie to attract fans of these actors. Successfully signing actors such as Alison Lohman, Terry Crews, Kyra Sedgwick, John Leguizamo, Ludacris, and Milo Ventimiglia gave the movie incredible potential to have multiple well-developed characters. Sadly, every single one of these actors was not only underused, but the performances they gave were less than ideal.

The movie did surprisingly poor at the box office. Over the course of a month, it has only managed to rake in $18 million, an amount which most summer blockbusters manage to blow away in their first weekend. Gamer also disappointed critics: Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter says, “Crass, nonstop action triumphs over narrative and character in this movie-length simulation of a video game.”

Gamer is a solid, end-of-summer action movie that does what it sets out to do: blind the audience with explosions, muzzle flash, and strobe lights. Despite having its shortcomings, the main point of the movie remains intact. While by no means in the league of action classics such as Die Hard, Gamer is a decent entry into the genre for 2009.