Gamer (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor (Crank 1-2, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance)
	Actors: Gerard Butler (300, Olympus has Fallen), Michael C. Hall (Paycheck), Ludacris (The Hangover), Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson 1-2)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 14.01.2014, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: In this future society, volunteer prisoners like Kable (Butler) are controlled by video gamers like Simon (Lerman) in a bloody war simulation called Slayers, in order to gain their freedom.
Review: The short review would be that the concept is interesting and a good SF one, and the realisation is epileptic but rather fits the topic. There are several reasons why I like this movie. One is the violence in it which has not been reduced to accomodate the youngest teenage audience ; prisoners are fighting to the death, so you have to see gun wounds and explosions. Then the action (during the game) is filmed almost like a video game which is suited. Some scenes are rather extreme which makes them very enjoyeable. I remember very well that when reading the review in Mad Movies, the description of one crazy scene made me want to watch the movie: it is when Kabel ingests one bottle of Wodka just before the game, goes zig-zagging to an underground parking, and then pukes and pisses in the tank, in order to fuel the car and escape with it. how crazy is that?!? The rather classical story of wrongly emprisoned hero that will eventually get his family back and defeat the bad guy is not the most interesting in this movie (it s very similar to the one of Death Race that I have recently reviewed). The most interesting part in Gamer may be the description of the individuals in this future world. Some of them play Slayer, but before that they were playing Society, another game which offers you the life of your choice (like Second Life, or Facebook if you create a fake profile), except that you pay to control a real person and make him/her obey all your wishes (in Society most of those are sexual in nature), or you can pay to be one of the controlled character. Or you get paid to be controlled. This is what the wife of Kabel actually does to survive. I find quite interesting this kind of anticipation of where will the digital age and its social networks lead us.
Rating: 6 /10