I don’t usually write about films, but the just-released film Gamer, in which much of the action takes place in online games, will be of interest to many Second Life residents.
Gamer was released last week. Directed and written by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, it is a fast-paced action film with the tag line, "In the near future, you don’t live to play… you’ll play to live."
Set in a future in which humans control other humans in online games, the latest of which is "Slayers", which updates the ancient Roman gladiator arena to an online world in which ordinary people can play out their most vicious fantasies using real life prisoners as avatars. As with the Roman gladiators, prisoners being forced to fight in this online arena will be given their freedom if they survive 30 games. The story revolves around the prisoner Kable. He has won 27 matches, and now seeks to gain his freedom by defeating the game itself.
I haven’t seen the film yet myself, but sadly, reviews for Gamer have not been great. In fact, I’ve found only one so far that’s positive. Based on the reviews, you’re most likely to enjoy Gamer if you love loud, action films with lots of violence, or if you’re a fan of some of the actors in the film, who include Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick, Alison Lohman, and Ludacris.
A review in HollywoodReporter.com concludes, "The technical barrage of visual and digital effects, quick cuts and strobe lighting does produce something akin to the sensation of playing a video game. So why, one wonders, don’t potential viewers simply play one instead of watching this pale imitation?" Gamer’s website is gamerthemovie.com.
The review on SciFiMoviePage.com had similar thoughts about Gamer: "It’s an action flick directed by the guys who did Crank and stars Gerard Butler of 300! … So at a certain brain-dead teenager boy level we’re quite excited. After all, we liked Crank as much as the next guy. But come on! The whole futuristic blood sport thing is as old as science fiction itself!"
A review in Sonic-Cinema.com includes the line, "…this is head-exploding cinema, so long as you don’t really care about story, character, a sense of direction, or your ear drums."
Nick Schager‘s review in SlantMagazine.com concludes, "After over an hour of bludgeoning combat and facile commentary, the film momentarily comes alive when Castle performs a phenomenal taunting song-and-dance routine alongside his servile marionette goons to the tune of "I’ve Got You Under My Skin." Alas, it’s the only novel, lighthearted button the otherwise leaden Gamer pushes."
Michael Ransom has a more positive review on Collider.com: "It had some of the most entertaining and unique actions scenes I’ve seen in a while, and that’s coming from an ex-gamer. … I found this exhilarating to watch, because it seemed like Neveldine and Taylor finally broke the bounds of the typical action scenes I’ve seen coming out of Hollywood so often."