Movie review of Gamer (2009)
DAMIEN’S RATING of Gamer: 8 – You’ll probably think this movie was worth the price of theatre admission – probably. It’s definitely worth a DVD rental someday.
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Gamer reviewed in 25 words or less: If you’re an action movie fan, this movie delivers the goods – but don’t expect a compelling story or great dialog.
FULL REVIEW of Gamer
Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor teamed up once again to bring us a non-stop action extravaganza. You might remember this pair from Crank and Crank: High Voltage. The two know action – even if they don’t know much else.
If there is such a thing as too much action, Gamer night be guilty. Gamer starts with action – and then keeps on shoveling it out during the entire movie. During the very few calm parts, be sure to catch your breath – it’ll start back up again soon!
Gamer is not an utterly new story. Michael C. Hall – the star of the fantastic series “Dexter” – has created a way for humans to control other humans’ bodies and actions. His invention is first used to create bizarre social ‘networks’ in the real world. Then the invention is used to pit [volunteer] death row inmates against one another. If the inmate survives 30 battles, he goes free. Gamers in the real world pay dearly to control one of the inmates, and pay-per-view TV of the battles nets the inventor, and the government’s prison system, big bucks!
When Gamer begins, Gerard Butler has survived 27 ruthless battles, more than any other inmate before him. Butler (who was framed to get him into prison) wants to win the next three battles so he is free to rejoin his wife and child – but the evil corporations want no such thing! This is when the helpful underground faction arrives – the one that realizes how evil the invention is – and starts to help Butler to set things aright.
I know action fans will enjoy Gamer. Personally, I would have liked to see some more creativity – but what Gamer lacks in creativity it more than makes up for with explosions, gun battles, fights and other acts of derring-do.
Directors of Gamer: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Stars of Gamer: Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick, Logan Lerman, Alison Lohman, Terry Crews, Ramsey Moore and Ludacris.
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