Gamer (2009)

How did they manage to mess up such a tried and tested concept so well? They hired some great actors, but no one could save this script. Michael C Hall does not fit his character whatsoever (and don't get me started on his song and dance routine.)There's a scene where a character drinks alcohol, vomits it into a car's petrol tank, and then uses said vomit to fuel the car. This is meant to be taken seriously. That scene actually sums the entire film up pretty well.I've lost interest that much that I still have the movie on as I type this. They could've gone properly dark and gritty, like Black Mirror, or taken a light hearted B movie approach. Unfortunately they awkwardly sat on the fence between these two choices.Save yourself the disappointment and watch Ready Player One instead.

There is no surprises in the 2009 movie Gamer. The action sequences and many of the scenes are pretty stereotypical for this type of movie and it's exactly what you would expect, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. The film begins with a big video game style military like action sequence where a bunch of soldiers are trying to kill one another. Now there are some jerky camera movements and some of the filming is a little bit hard to follow at the beginning, but I excuse it because it's meant to be that way, since it's a game. Gerard Butler is good in his role, he was dramatic at times and then he was just the stereotypical action hero at other times. I also really liked Kyra Sedgwick in her role, she didn't really have a huge role, but I thought she fit. Logan Lerman is here, and he was OK I guess, nothing all that special, he's the teenage boy who games, and has all he could ever hope for or desire (including nude girls). That is one thing that I want to talk about, is if you are uncomfortable with occasional nudity or sex, then this is not the movie for you, because one of the games is very sexually charged and that's basically all it's about. I didn't really care to see as much nudity as was in the film, I don't mind brief nudity or a couple scenes that feature it, but I thought that they overloaded it a bit. I thought that the plot was interesting enough to keep your attention, although not the most original in the world. And this might not seem like much of a complaint to some people, but I did not care for Logan Lerman's miss use of the word gay. He uses it as an insult/derogatory term, like a stereotypical straight teenage guy, no need for that, it's insulting. Anyways back to the review. The action is all right, there definitely have been better action films and there will be better in the future. Overall I give gamer a 6/10.

Photography and choreography are really fine in this film. Acting is fair and the plot contains some ideas which are pretty unusual in sci fi, AFAIK. The main idea looks like eXistenZ (1999) or The Thirteenth Floor (1999) but actually it is more powerful because the fighters are real, not virtual: when characters die they die for real.I was impressed by costumes and environment of the "game" Society: they are really fun; scenes from the "game" Slayers look like an actual video game. I enjoyed it very much it deserves attention although the IMDb score is so low.I give it 8/10

In the end Gamer doesn't seem to know what to do with its premise. Using death row inmates in gladiatorial video games would have allowed for some great drama as the inmates battled for their survival and their controllers dealt with the moral dilemma of using real life humans as their playthings.And we do get some of that. Unfortunately the main plot isn't interested in this basic dilemma and instead tries to be too ambitious with its villain and conflict. We really don't need a dystopian world threat with a premise such as this one. Grandeur action scenes, some good character building and a grim, dark tone would have been enough. Now it aims for too high and ends up being rather silly in the process.As for the actors, Gerald Butler is a surprisingly convincing action lead. He has the looks and the presence to play a badass and his scenes are easily the best ones in the film. The rest are a mixed package. Logan Lerman is utterly forgettable, while Michael C. Hall is an ill fit for his character. On the other hand Amber Valletta works really well as Butler's wife and a fellow virtual reality user.Gamer has its ups and downs. It provides some interesting social commentary on gaming, but its views are too few and black-n-white to really convince. It's a good first draft for a movie, but not enough work went in to really make it shine. Watch it for the action if you're going to watch it at all.