Looking for a good last flick to end the summer? Do you like dark, first-person shooter video games? The head out and check out “Gamer” before getting back to classes this fall.
Set in the distant future, “Gamer” stars Gerard Butler (“The Ugly Truth”) as Kable, a convicted death row inmate. But in addition to his inmate status, Kable is also a character in the live-action first-person shooter game called “Slayers.”
Created by billionaire mogul Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”), “Slayers” is a game in which a person is given control over a living human being in a combat style game. However, all the players involved are convicted death row inmates, and as long as they survive 30 sessions, they are set free.
The general idea of the film is surprisingly thought-provoking, considering the intended audience. Is it sill murder if the targets are slated to die? But somewhere along the line, the whole idea of the film gets skewed. The path taken to bring the audience their decision is filled with distracting blood and guts, reminding them that it doesn’t really matter if you get the story, because we’re all just here for the head-shots.
If the entire idea of the film seems vaguely familiar, it’s because you’ve seen it before. Or at least a similar enough version to avoid the lawsuit. In 1987, Arnold Schwarzeneggar starred in “The Running Man,” a film in which death row inmates are slated to die on public television, at the hands of authorized killers or “stalkers.”
One major issue – as though there were only one – with the film is that no one had any idea who the intended audience was meant to be. As stated before, we’ve got a fairly intriguing plot, which leads me to believe they felt the film would attract an older audience. But with random bouts of nudity, women in erotic “raver” clothing and advance weaponry, parts of the film come across resembling the inner thoughts of a 12-year-old boy. Throw in Gerard Bulter for the ladies and John Leguizamo for a few laughs, and you’ve got a mess of a film that can only go one place: downhill.
As an end of the summer blockbuster, “Gamer” does not fit the bill. But as a semi-decent thriller and action film, it works to pass the time before we need to use our brains again for more important matters.
2/5 stars