Movie:Gamer

Gamer

Starring: Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick, Amber Valetta, Ludacris, Terry Crews, John Leguizamo, Logan Lerman

Director: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor

Genre: Science Fiction

This is a sci-fi action movie with something to say; in this case, about our increasing disconnect. Now, if only it didn't have to bludgeon us over the head while speaking its piece.

Release Date: 10-Sep-2009

URL: http://www.gscmovies.com.my/

Language: English

Distributor: Golden Screen Cinemas

Synopsis:

In a desensitized, bloodthirsty future, a sinister genius invents a system that lets game-players control actual people. He has a dark agenda, but his best "meat puppet" could prove to be his undoing.

My Comment/Review:

Starring: Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick, Amber Valetta, Ludacris, Terry Crews, John Leguizamo, Logan Lerman

This movie, the credits tell us, was written and directed by a combine known as "Neveldine/Taylor".

The names are probably unfamiliar to most Malaysian moviegoers, since their most famous output before this was the unseen-in-local-cineplexes Crank series starring Jason Statham.

Well, either those movies were banned, or the potential distributor just didn't bother trying to get them through the censors.

Those who somehow managed to sample Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor's brand of twitchy, hyperkinetic and totally off-the-wall storytelling, though, should know what to expect.

THIS IS MADNESS: 'And now, for all my "300" fans, a THIS IS SPARTAAAA moment.'

Think of them as sort of like this decade's Wachowski Brothers, only, um, not related and who regard an "R" rating as a licence to push the envelope – and leave it ripped open in several places.

Neveldine/Taylor's latest opus is set in a not-too-far, somewhat foreseeable future where an eccentric genius named Ken Castle (Hall) has invented a form of nanotechnology that allows gamers to take control of real live people.

Think of your favourite first-person shooter game, only where you control an actual person who has no direct control over his/her actions (thanks to said nanotechnology overriding most voluntary motor control).

Throw in a Death Race-type scenario where Death Row convicts are offered a chance to become Slayers (a true "meat puppet" that goes beyond the online context of the term) and earn their freedom by surviving 30 battles.

THE FILTH ELEMENT: 'I don't get it ... why are all these people calling me Leeloo?'

The top Slayer is Kable, a meld of convict Tillman (Butler) and young arrogant gamer Simon (Lerman). Tillman has a handful of battles left before earning his freedom, but it seems he knows stuff that Castle doesn't want to be made public.

In a subplot, Tillman's wife Angie (Valetta) is unable to keep custody of their daughter because of her day job: an actress in another Castle creation, a bizarre city populated by more meat puppets where clients get to live vicariously – and sensuously, and depravedly, and every-other-kind-of-badly – through someone else's body.

Through both forms of morally deviant entertainment, Gamer tells us, people become able to plug into other people's lives and existences like never before … and yet, as the intimacy of the connection becomes closer, the disconnect between our actions and our humanity grows ever larger.

It's an interesting idea, if not exactly new to science fiction fans, but regular audiences may find it an intriguing thought. And of course, those weaned on current raw, edgy methods of disseminating information may find the film's visuals quite … arresting.

Some of us, however, may ask that Neveldine/Taylor be arrested instead.

As the movie unfolded, I became accustomed to the pair's frenetic visual style; the pounding in my head eased up and I found I could follow Gamer without having to turn away or close my eyes every few seconds.

That focus, however, served to show how underdeveloped the Tillman/Simon connection is – it should be the centrepiece of the film, since Simon is the real Gamer here – while highlighting Neveldine/Taylor's preoccupation with gratuitous "shock" images.

THROAT CLUTCHING: 'Bet you didn't expect someone under your mind control to show such DEXTER-ity ... heh, geddit?'

So it is that in fulfilling their need to assault the viewer, unintentionally hilarious moments ensue.

One of these involves Heroes' Milo Ventimiglia as the human equivalent of the Megan-Fox-leg-humping robot from Transformers: ROTF. At other times, you may cackle over the extremely over-the-top action sequences or the movie's cartoon henchman, a musclebound goon named Hackman (Crews).

There are more unusual and gross bits, but there are some places we're just not allowed to go. Love the song-and-dance number by Castle, though.

When all is said and done, though, you may conclude that Gamer was full of sound and fury, ultimately signifying … a little.

Probably the film's best trick is that it could lure the videogame- and virtual life-crazy to go see it expecting a celebration of their favourite pastimes, only to find themselves being made to endure a bit of social commentary about where they're headed instead. Ain't that a kick in the head….

Surfing: http://www.gscmovies.com.my/

Making The Grade: