Gamer review

I think prison films of the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's in the conventional sense of prison have died. Today we have several examples of the future where we as society have traveled back mentally to the days of gladiators and chosen death row inmates to be them. Both version's of 'Death Race' involved this. 'The Condemned' did as well and now we have 'Gamer' from Neveldine/Taylor the creators of the 'Crank' series. 'Gamer' chooses to look at it was an interactive piece to combine an ala gory of society AND youth going down the moral toilet. They ain't wrong, anyone who plays online games can attest to that. However let's face it, this isn't a film too concerned with making a statement as much as it is with delivering booms and bangs as a late summer treat. And it does so quite well.

Personally I find the two film makers fascinating. In interviews they often appear with beers in hand and seem about as down to Earth as one could get in terms of general care for what they do. I mean they care, but they don't like use thinking they care. Because that's not cool. What is cool is the fact that on all three of their directed features they attempt to try something visually new. On 'Gamer' it was the introduction of the RED cameras which was something that would take out certain special effect processing steps. It also has great resolution and generally delivers pretty shots. At the same time these guys come from the world of skating videos so they try to give an up close look at action and edit faster for the most kinetic feel. 'Gamer' does deliver some very impressive action sequences that never go on too long or too short and never seem lifted from other films.

In these sequences Gerard Bulter's character Kable seems right at home. Butler is a gruff looking guy who is perfect for these sort of roles, but never forget he does have acting chops. He didn't start off in action films like '300'. He just fits the bill. 'Dexter' star Michael C. Hall plays the bizarre billionaire Ken Castle who created the real world interactive phenomenon Slayers as well as another which is a real life version of the 'Second Life' called Society. After seeing both I'm still debating which one is scarier. Kable's main motivation for enduring the 28 rounds he must survive to escape the game and prison is to see his wife and daughter again on the outside. Little does he know a group called Humanz led by Ludacris is attempting to help him break free to do this and stop Castle who is bringing the world down piece by piece.

Then again all this you might be able to summarize from the trailer. I hate when that happens. The major flaw in 'Gamer' lays in it's vibe I guess you could say. It's supposed to be serious and it is serious, but it often times lacks that serious punch needed. Granted there's humor, Castle is a very over the top villain and Hall plays it off well, but it's something that Neveldine & Taylor haven't got nailed down yet. Second is the final act which feels like a sweep. Everything cleared up quickly and that's that. It's a pisser because we know it'll happen, but you want just a bit more before hitting those credits.

Something I did remember though is that this is actually only their second film. "Crank 2: High Voltage" was made after this one, but got released before as "Gamer" kept being tossed around the Lionsgate roster. What this means is that a lot of things seems tested. Like in 'Crank' the camera styles change throughout the film, flow ranges from super fast to almost too slow from time to time, but it's still entertaining. This does the same thing sort of. In 'Crank 2' it's like 'Evil Dead 2', everything is done one way, it's fast, has attitude and knows where it's going and how to handle itself. It's still a film experience I love and the DVD is just as fantastic and funny. 'Gamer' is alright, but it's a test film and it feels like it.

As it stands I don't feel I can quite recommend, but I can't say don't give it a matinée watch or a DVD rental. It'll be interesting when Neveldine & Taylor hit the real event movie mainstream. Them directing and writing 'Jonah Hex' almost happened, but instead just their script is being used. For action fans I think they are the next big name to come out of the genre and one of the ones to continuously look out for in the future. They haven't hit their stride just yet, but I feel it's coming.

"Gamer" ** 1/2 out of ****