Gamer (Lionsgate Films)
The Game Is On
Gerard Butler is an actor in search of himself. He made his name in 300 but also played lead roles in The Phantom of the Opera and Nims Island. He even made a romantic comedy titled The Ugly Truth. Each of these movies is light years from the other. Now he is back on screen in a violent tale of the future titled Gamer. Whether or not it will enhance his career is yet to be seen.
The setting of Gamer is the future where men and women play out combative roles in a video type game. The only difference is instead of video characters these men and women are real. They are controlled by operators who have machines that are keyed into their minds. These operators control their men and his/her actions while in the battle zones.
Death row inmates are used as the men and if they survive a certain number of combats they will be released. Kable (Butler) is one of these men and at the start of the film he has won twenty-six events. A few more and he will be free to search for his wife (Amber Valletta) and their daughter.
Kable is controlled by a young man named Simon (Logan Lerman). He loves the game and is good at controlling Kable and making him win. The game is owned by a megalomaniacal millionaire named Castle (Michael C. Hall). He could care less about the players but likes the control the game gives him.
The entire film is just an excuse for violence and does not appear to have any point other than that. How they got actors of the likes of Butler, Lerman, Hall and Valletta to appear is a mystery. Plus they also have Kyra Sedgwick, Alison Lohman and Ludacris popping up.
Sedgwick is obnoxiously profane as the host of a TV talk show. After her success in the TV series The Closer this role appears to just give her a chance to get down and dirty for a change. Lohman is a very talented actress and her role is just a blip on the landscape of the film.
Butler lives up to the physical requirements of the role of Kable but never interjects a specifically believable character trait into the role. He is just a killing machine hoping for a way to save his family.
The movie is rated R for profanity, violence and nudity.
The one character who does draw attention is Castle. As played by Hall he is fascinating to watch. There is one scene in which he breaks into song and dance that is so bizarre that you cant get it out of your mind even after the movie has ended. It is a unique moment for a unique actor.
Most of Gamer is just mind blowing violence. There is no real rhyme or reason to anything. It holds your interest because of the action but nothing else. The cast is much too good to be trapped in a violence only film such as this one.
I scored Gamer a tilted 4 out of 10.
