Search - Game of Death on DVD

I'm having a hard time accepting that anyone could really like this one at all.

The Game of Death is very very loosely based on Robert Louis Stevenson's short story, The Suicide Club and Other Stories (which actually has three parts-- the first being The Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts, on which this film is based).

If you haven't read the book, you may want to-- I liked it years ago, but it's definitely not RLS's best work. However, if you haven't seen the film, please do yourself a favor and skip it.

The premise is fascinating-- those who wish to end their lives for whatever reason may do so here. Rather than killing themselves if they are too reluctant to do so, they pay for their "murder", thereby not bringing shame upon their families (and getting a "proper" burial, too). The catch is, of course, that their 'turns' are decided by the draw of cards. And, it may be their turn to murder several times before drawing the card that permits them to get killed by another member. To me, this sounds like a twist on "Strangers on a Train (Two-Disc Special Edition)". However, it was nothing at all like that classic.

Jonathan Pryce plays the leader of this club ruling with high society iron! Once you sign the club's contract, there's no getting out of the club... alive! Obviously, for those who join this is the desired result. However, for those who change their minds and want to live well they're just out of luck (i.e., dead)!

The acting here is very good. Paul Bettany ( The Heart of Me) is just excellent. He has a small role, but was thoroughly enjoyable to watch. David Morrissey (Our Mutual Friend, Sense & Sensibility (with Miss Austen Regrets) (BBC TV 2008)) is superb as well. Acting isn't the issue here, nor the macabre subject matter. The issue is the pacing, or lack thereof.

The film just drags along; it's slow; it's boring; it's completely unbelievable. The concept of the club itself is not so outlandish so much as the budding love story that blooms between the card driven murders.

Additionally, the villain (Pryce) is completely flat and one-dimensional. In an extremely short story, this is could be excused. In a fleshed-out 2 hour movie, though, it removes so much of the dramatic tension.

Finally there is a point in the movie when someone states, "we all have our price" or "everyone has a price" or some such drivel, as if this might be the film's deep moral lesson! Silly, silly. . .

My recommendation is to save yourself the pain and frustration that I experienced and steer clear of this mess. I wish I had. I wasn't suicidal at all before the movie started but by the end of the film well, you get the picture.