Starring: Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Ludacris, Kyra Sedgwick, Amber Valletta, Alison Lohman, Terry Crews
Written & Directed by: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor
"Gamer" is a mix of equal parts "the Sims," "Running Man," "Ender's Game," and "Death Race." The movie is shot in the style of a video game; that is to say constantly spinning and always focused in a close up shot. As someone who got their gaming start with the trusty Atari 2600, my current days of game play consist of my inability to direct the camera POV on the item I want to shoot. Instead, I'm constantly spinning round and round, trying to find the target for my guns that are a blazing. The direction of this movie was kind of like that.
Set in the future, the evil love child of bizarro Will Wright and Bill Gates is the game mastermind named Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall). At first Castle created an online community of people who interact and play online in a world called "Society." The difference between "Society" and something like "the Sims" is that the avatars they inhabit are real people with computer nanites in their brain. You want to be a beautiful blonde lady with no moral qualms or inhibitions? Great! For a small fee you can order around a beautiful blonde woman to do your bidding from the safety of your chair at home. Assuming you can get past the idea that the woman may be doing this out of a necessity to feed her family or drug habit rather than a desire to be controlled by some stranger, than you should have a swell time.
Even beyond this very disturbing premise is the next level: actual killing. Castle's newest game "Slayers" has all the vicariousness of "Society" but it also comes with the ability to immerse yourself in a war like environment. The fighters are all death row inmates who have gambled on fighting to live rather than passively awaiting the inevitable conclusion of their death sentence. A slayer must complete and survive 30 combat missions in order to be set free. For anyone that saw "The Running Man" (or even read the Richard Bachman story), you know that the powers that be will not let any of the fighters win the game.
Kable (Gerard Butler) has completed 27 missions and is poised to win his freedom and return to his wife and daughter. Brace for this spoiler plot point: he was wrongfully imprisoned by Castle. I know, I was totally shocked too. However, Kable is an interesting character who doesn't talk in quips or witty one liners like the usual action star character. Kable runs. Kable shoots. Kable kills quickly and efficiently and is always on the move for the safe zone of the mission. I think I liked this most of all about the movie. Kable is likeable not because he is charming or amusing or even because he is innocent: Kable is killing to survive and not taking any pleasure in it or spending any more time than he needs to do it. Kable rarely talks, and just keeps going.
The creator of the game, Ken Castle, is clearly unstable from the first moment we see him, and I think it is kind of unbelievable that no one would find an ulterior motive in the fact that he is slowly replacing the brain cells of the people of the world with mind control computer nanites. If you thought people were unhappy with the idea of a DNA database, would those same people be okay with any corporation having the ability to completely and utterly control your body? Most people I know don't even like to be given advice on what to do from friends they trust much less a corporation or anonymous guy in an armchair in Scranton. It seems highly unlikely.
Still, the idea is a horrific envisioning of a possible future. The thirst for reality television seems to grow more each year, and the desensitization of humans toward violence in gaming seems to occur even faster. That said I still don't believe civilization will actually come to "Society" or "Slayers." Though I could argue that no one would want to expose themselves to a situation that is tantamount to experiencing emotional, mental, or physical rape, I am reminded that people do that every day in the real world (i.e. prostitution). Though "Society" would offer a supervised environment, one would never have that crucial thing that keeps us human: the ability to say no.
But enough with the philosophy of possibilities and probabilities of this world actually occurring. Regarding the movie itself, it is an interesting bit of mess. At times the movie is kind of exhilarating and enjoyable, quickly followed by a section that made me want to leave the theatre. The directing style is a bit at odds with itself (even beyond the frenetic camera work). One moment it tries to be a serious action flick (think Statham) but is then quickly followed by perverse over the top humor (like a sexually amped "Fifth Element" if you will).
Still, the action sequences were good when you could see what was going on. I like that Butler's fight moves were simple punch and kick combos rather than a bunch of ornate choreography. Kable prefers a quick snap of a neck to a grudge match, and honestly, that was more interesting to me. Disturbing for sure, but more realistic. I found Terry Crews scenes to be kind of giggle inducing. That was due in part to his over the top character in this movie but mostly because every time I looked at him I thought of his character on "Everybody Hates Chris." Crews may be a large man, but he just didn't seem all that scary to me because of that show.
The other moment I kind of loved was the unexpected and firmly left field surprise of a dance sequence near the end of the movie. I don't know what inspired it (other than Hall's Broadway roots), but it kind of saved the movie for me. I mean looking at Gerard Butler can only carry a movie so far before you need another reason to keep sitting in the theatre. (For example, it won't even get you in the door to see "The Ugly Truth." Trust me.)
Overall it was an interesting movie. I wouldn't recommend it beyond cable (or maybe DVD rental), but honestly I don't know if I would recommend it for that either. Other than the dance sequence near the end and a couple of neat fight scenes, there really isn't any reason to watch this movie. In fact, the cameo appearance by Milo Ventimiglia was so repugnant that it makes a strong argument against seeing the movie at all. Though the movie might be a good jumpstart to a conversation about humanity, its weaknesses, and which hand basket it will be riding to hell in, in all honesty, any episode of "Seinfeld" could probably get the ball rolling on that conversation too.
