Summer Review #3 - Gamer

I went into Gamer very happy to finally watch a movie that I had been wanting to see for more than a year and stepped out of the theatre pleasantly surprised. Yes, this movie with Gerard Butler shooting stuff up, Michael C. Hall going all megalomaniac on us and at least one explosion in every second frame actually has something to say. It is a great satire on a possible futuristic version of our already reckless society -- a corporate playground that has crossed the line between impulse and action a long time ago, where human decadence has overflown into all aspects of life and where cheap thrills and short-term gratification are priceless.

In 2034, Kable (Butler) is a popular participant in the worldwide game phenomenon called Slayers, invented by eccentric billionaire Ken Castle (Hall), who had revolutionized the business a few years back with his role-playing game Society. Whereas Society feels like a spoiled offspring of this decade's Second Life, Slayers places death row inmates in blood-curdling battles, giving them freedom after a certain number of wins and putting them at the mercy of their human controllers. Kable's controller, Simon Silverton (Logan Lerman), is a teenage superstar who enjoys his cushy spot in the world, his life revolving around his secure virtual reality domain, without the need to question a single pixel. Kable has four battles to go until his release, but Castle, who is counting on Kable to keep up his media power, intends on preventing the duo from winning. All the while, Kable's wife Angie (Amber Valetta) is dealing with her own exploitation issues, and the Humanz resistance movement is planning to break Kable out.

While many reviewers have compared the thematics of Gamer to that of The Running Man, for obvious reasons, this Neveldine/Taylor production is more of an adrenaline-fueled blend of A Clockwork Orange and The Matrix, both storywise and stylistically. Contrary to the filmmakers' tasteless and downright offensive Pathology, Gamer is a philosophical piece for the Facebook generation, a movie that dishes out warning after warning, all attractively wrapped up in a poisonous candy-colored pastiche of mockery amid excess. The dialogue is a problematic element -- it can be weak and appear unfinished at times, hinting at much more that a particular scene can deal with. I feel like Neveldine and Taylor held back with their writing as much as they reined freely over the action, which was not a wise choice with this story, since the powerful visuals should have been matched with equally significant verbal exchanges. 

The performances are good all around. Butler does well as an action hero once again; the genre seems to have become somewhat of his niche, although I do feel he could have handled more of Kable's background. Hall is incredible as Castle, his twang and cocky swagger making him both captivating and loathsome. Kyra Sedgwick and Milo Ventimiglia provide memorable supporting turns as a tabloid journalist and greedy rapist, respectfully. I wish that the resistance had been explored a bit further, because it seems to be populated by all sorts of renegade genius types, some of which fit into the movie's tapestry rather nicely.

While undoubtedly offering escapist entertainment, Gamer also offers a caustic view of a world that undervalues human beings and abuses its own development potential. With its intended demographic putting more stock in the color of their iPod than an attention span, the colorful tones of the movie's derisive attitude will likely be lost on this audience; however, they are worth more than any of its wisecrack-trailed blasts and painstakingly choreographed fight sequences. Gamer scores points for being different from your usual action showdown in its innovative creative process, as well as in its choice to follow the slams with a significant bang.

7/10