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(1) GAMER with Gerard Butler, Michael C Hall, Amber Valletta, Kyra Sedgwick, Alison Lohman, Terry Crews and Ludacris. Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Showing at The Bridge and The Boardwalk.
GAMER is trashy. But what else would one expect from Crank directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor?
Though they are capable of coming up with some intelligent and original films, the sex and violence detract from the movie. Gamer is set in the near future when mind-control technology has taken the world by storm making its inventor Ken Castle (Michael C Hall) a multi billionaire.
People are fascinated by Slayers, a real life video game that has prisoners literally fighting for their lives. The star of the show, a modern day gladiator if you will, Kable (Gerard Butler), has made it to round 27 and has three more rounds left until he wins his freedom and is reunited with his daughter and wife Angie (Amber Valletta) who is also part of a successful gaming show society.
What Kable doesn’t know is that his daughter has been placed in another home and his wife is controlled by an over weight man who uses her to satisfy his sexual fantasies.
The plot thickens when Kable is set free by his controller, Simon, 16, and takes matters into his own hands.
Michael C Hall was brilliant in his role as the reclusive billionaire. Also the action scenes look very similar to that of Playstation action games. But that is where the positive commentary ends. The violence is over the top and gruesome.
How many times do you have to shoot a man to show he is dead? There is also a lot of unnecessary, vulgar nudity. They didn’t need to be so graphic to get their point across. Give the viewer some credit. Butler is proving to be very versatile in his roles lately but he is wasted in this film.
This film is certainly not for everyone and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unless you are a sucker for punishment.
Reviewed by Catherine Richards ARTS CORRESPONDENT richards@avusa.co.za
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