Gamer Review

I just got back from seeing Gamer, staring Gerard Butler. I have been waiting for this to come out ever since I saw the awesome trailer, so I had pretty high expectations.

The basic plot is that there is this new game called Slayer. The only thing is that instead of virtual avatars, users control real human beings (inmates on death-row). Once someone wins 30 straight rounds, they will be set free. When the movie starts, Kabel (Butler) has already won 27 rounds and is the only person to ever go this far. I can't go into much more detail without spoiling anything.

The first thing that comes to mind about this movie is the action, and there's lots of it! By the end of the movie, I think the body count was over 200. It was also directed by the same people as the Crank movies, so if you have seen Crank or Crank High Voltage you should have an idea of what to expect. The camera in this movie is very similar to that of Crank also; it never stays on one scene for more than 3 to 5 seconds.

I really liked the visuals of this movie. It reminded me a lot of a Zach Snyder movie. The world is depicted in very dull, gray colors that really contribute to a great atmosphere. However, the virtual world of Society (the other "game" that users play with real people) is filled with vibrant colors. This is a movie that should look greath when it is released on blu-ray.

The storyline isn't perfect, it's just an excuse for all the action and explosions. If you like action movies, this shouldn't bother you, but if you are expecting anything more than lots of death and explosions, this is not the movie for you. The acting is solid from almost everyone involved. If Gamer did not star Gerard Butler, I don't think that it would have worked nearly as well.

As a side note, one cool thing I noticed is that when the kid who was controlling Gerard Butler was in police custody, he was wearing a Crank shirt. It was a brief scene, so you had to have been paying attention to pick up on it.

There's not much else to say about this movie. You will either love it or hate it, and that depends on how much you like action movies.

Bottom Line: 7/10