Gamer (2009) - Movie Review

Review by Dakota Grabowski (D-)

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Gerard Butler, the fabled savior of the action genre due to his macho representation of Leonidas in the Warner Bros. film 300, finally returns to the action genre after his brief departure to romantic-comedies (2007's P.S. I Love You and 2009's The Ugly Truth). His return, though, is barred from being fully appreciated with the schizophrenic camera control, fast-paced editing, and pathetic storytelling.

Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the same tandem that directed and helped craft the script for Crank and Crank: High Voltage, Gamer is put through the ringer in an attempt to create a visceral film that will stun the audience. Unfortunately, stealing cues from The Bourne series, Gamer suffers with its handheld camera shots that could nauseate viewers. More often than not, viewers will wonder, "What is going on?" The pacing of the film is poor due to the narrative bouncing around in effort to grab a hold of the viewer and have them become attached to the pitifully created characters.

In fact, the first 20 minutes of the film is nonstop action that has blood, guts and enough gore to appease the younger demographic who appreciate over-the-top violence. By the halfway point, though, the story still hasn't advanced far enough to create any real concern for Butler's action-hero Kable. Kable is fighting in a world where he's trying to win his freedom from death row by killing other inmates in a military-esque game. If Kable is able to survive 30 matches in a row, he'll be able to leave scotch free and resume his life.

Well, as clichéd as it is, Michael C. Hall's character, who runs the game for the public to watch, enters and determines that Kable isn't allowed to win since Kable holds the secrets to Hall's nefarious plot to rule the world. I kid you not; Gamer is as clichéd as any other science-fiction film where control of human beings and robots is the focal point; or in any video game, where the hero must stop the villain from taking over the world. Gamer is a contrived mess that has a bright idea to pit humans in a virtual world where they are, in turn, controlled by other humans; but ultimately, it fails at being a worthwhile film.

Michael C. Hall's performance as Ken Castle is the only bullet point that stands out. His acting is over-the-top, but looking back upon the film, the audience should appreciate his social commentary about how silly Gamer is. In the key sequence of the film, Hall busts out a dance number where he parades around a room while Butler's Kable fights Castle's minions who stand between him and Kable's free life. Even as the only dazzling moment of the film, it's not enough to recommend to any of Hall's Dexter fans to sit through the atrocious film.

The rest of the supporting cast don't do much but pose for the camera. Actually, I take that back: Terry Crews, known for his popular role in the television show "Everybody Hates Chris" and the film White Chicks, does a humorous job as a physical rival to Butler's Kable. Tongue-in-cheek throughout, Crews helps keep the story lighthearted even when it's not supposed to be. The same can't be said for rapper-turned-actor Ludacris, TNT's Kyra "The Closer" Sedgwick, and Sam Raimi's featured star in Drag Me to Hell, Alison Lohman - they just smile for the camera without much to do.

Besides the musical number, it's best to avoid Gamer at all costs.

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