Movie Review- Gamer

Okay, I know what the makers of "Gamer" were trying to say. I know what they were trying to do. I know where they were trying to go. But i don't feel they said it, did it, or went there. It all just turned into a corny mess. I mean any movie that opens up with a soft rock version of "Sweet Dreams" and with the line "They f*@king tea bagged him", worries me.

It's an interesting concept really. Turning real humans into video game characters and making them battle sounds delightful. And then add Gerard Butler to the mix, you've got something there. But something went wrong between the pitch and the actual film. Ok, maybe more than something...maybe alot of somethings.

Plot:
Death row inmate John Tillman (Gerard Butler) is caught in a gamer software mastermind's virtual reality game, where inmates battle to the death while being controlled by civilians.

Pros:
The movie is filled with a talented cast with impressive resumes, and Butler, Michael C. Hall, Terry Crews, Chris Bridges, and John Leguizamo give pretty good individual performances. The large ensemble of familiar faces also wasn't a bad move either.

I really think cinematography-wise, the filmmakers did a good job duplicating the video game feeling. During the battle scenes, it really felt at times that I was watching my friends play "Call of Duty" online. Those scenes alone made the film watchable.

Cons:
As I said earlier, it was pretty corny. At least most of the first 45 minutes was. Butler seemed as if he was in the wrong movie. The film threw in elements of playfulness that made it seem as if they weren't taking themselves seriously, much like what the filmmakers did with "Crank", but Butler was kicking ass like he was doing battle scenes from "Saving Private Ryan". He gave a depthless character depth, purely based on his acting talent. The same goes for Hall. He was impressive as the mastermind, but it seemed as if his acting was too good for the dialogue.

Leguizamo was not needed, and that kills me to say that because I am a big fan of his. But he wasn't in much of the movie and he was gone before his character was really given anything to do. WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WASTE TALENT LIKE THAT?! He was better off doing the "Pest 2" or something. The worse part about it was i really thought his character had potential and was gonna be given a subplot. Wrong!

The violence and gore wasn't bad, it fit the video game feel, but what they did well in gore and video game violence, they lose in content and dialogue. Again I say, "Looking good means nothing if you don't have substance to back it up." Make a complete movie damn it!

And though I applaud the cinematography during battle scenes, they could have let up a little during non-battle scenes. Are quick, swooping, "look what i can do" camera tricks needed when two people are just having a conversation? I didn't think so.

Recommendation:
Wait til it comes on HBO

Written by:
Mark Neveldine
Brian Taylor

Directed by:
Mark Neveldine
Brian Taylor

Main Cast:
Gerard Butler ("300", "The Ugly Truth")
Michael C. Hall( TV's "Dexter", TV's "Six Feet Under")
Amber Valletta ("Hitch", "Transporter 2")
Terry Crews ("White Chicks", "Get Smart")
Chris Bridges ("Crash", "Fred Clause")
Kyra Sedgwick (TV's "Closer", "The Game Plan")
Logan Lerman ("Number 23", "3:10 to Yuma")
John Leguizamo ("Pest", "Across the Universe")
Allison Lohman ("Big Fish", "Drag Me To Hell")
Aaron Yoo ("Disturbia", "Perfect Score")
Keith David ("Armageddon", "There's Something About Mary")
Milo Ventimigilia ("Rocky Balboa", TV's "Heroes")

Similar Titles:
Crank, Crank: High Voltage, Surrogates