Search - Gamer on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 4/9/2022...

The jerking around camera angles killed it for us. The plotline was a bit weak. It was a hot mess!

Emily S. from BRISTOL, CT
Reviewed on 1/17/2013...

I really liked this movie, very cool take on the "gamer" and "player" aspect of video games. Had a lot of nudity or very suggestive (topless, sexual tension) in it though, so not something for a young teenager! I made that mistake with my nephew!! Really psychologically thought provoking.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Jessica B. (1short1tall) from DALLAS, TX
Reviewed on 7/30/2012...

This was nothing like I had expected. If you are any kind of gamer... you could relate a lot to the mindset - however disturbing.

FANTASTIC Movie!

Joseph M. (RoboticJoe) from TOLEDO, OH
Reviewed on 1/29/2011...

Freaking radical, one of my favorites! Visual effects were stunning, and story line was great! 2 :thumbsup: ~ Joe

3 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

Oh we've been played all right...

Michael J. Tresca | Fairfield, CT USA | 09/07/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Dear Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor,

We appreciate your recent attempt to create a movie that would appeal to gamers by naming it after us. Really, we do. But now that we've stopped throwing up from all the motion sickness and our pupils have finally refocused from the flash cuts, we thought you might appreciate some tips to help you farm XP faster.

* Stop with the static: Seriously guys. Stop it. Apparently in your version of the future all video games have terrible reception. We have lag, we have crashes, we have all kinds of problems, but the one problem we do not have is static. That's because our video games are not television screens. You'll also notice that our television do not have static either, and haven't had static for about a decade since they invented this thing called cable. Look it up.

* Speaking of Kable: Cable is the name of a time-traveling cyborg in the Marvel Universe. Kable is the name somebody thinks gamers think is cool. Nobody thinks Kable is cool. Nobody believes Kable is the best killer in the gaming universe. You didn't even use 133t speak, so...fail.

* Making Michael C. Hall an evil genius is...a stroke of genius. Go Dexter!

* Stop with the red/blue colors: Ludacris is cool and all, but even his cyber cred is sorely tested by a blurry 3-D image on screen.

* The teabagging gag was funny.

* Your jump cuts suck: We notice when you replace rapid jump cuts with actual fight choreography. It's the movie equivalent of shouting and pointing, "LOOK! A KITTY!" every time a fight starts. You just look stupid and we feel embarrassed for you.

* Dancing convicts are hilarious. Convicts dancing to a Frank Sinatra song is vaguely creepy. But still hilarious.

* Why is there still lag in the future? Bad guys can control other human beings by changing their brain cells into [INSERT STUPID MADE UP NAME] but we haven't solved lag? Is this future made of stupid?

* Evil Villain Tip #58: Next time around, you might want to consider not making the guy who holds your deepest, darkest secret an international broadcast superstar.

* Don't insult us: No offense, but portraying the gaming universe as nothing but "deviants and murderers" doesn't really make us want to watch your movie. Yes, the Internet has a dark side. But since you called the movie "Gamer" and not "All Gamers Are Disgusting Fat Perverted Slobs Who Watch Porn All Day," we'll assume you actually want us to buy a ticket. Please consider this the next time you name a movie after us.

And finally...

* Thank you for killing John Leguizamo: That's not a tip. But thank you.

We hope that these tips prove useful the next time you level up as directors and writers. Incidentally, multiclassing as both might not be such a good idea."

What A Mess

Movie Lover | Seoul, South Korea | 12/27/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"After seeing this film, I looked it up and found that it was from the same duo that made Crank (Widescreen Edition) and Crank 2: High Voltage. If you've seen either one of those movies, you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect: lots of violence with a plot put together by a 3-year-old. When it was clear that this movie was going nowhere, I found myself wondering what the actors saw in the script that made them want to do it.

A perfect metaphor for this film I take directly from it: in order to fuel up an empty vehicle, Gerard Butler uses his own vomit and urine to fuel it (those aren't typos). All I can say is that I'm glad I didn't pay to see this.

But as in every pile of crap there is one thing that stands out, and in this film that one thing is a fight set to "I've Got You Under My Skin". But that is nowhere near to making up for the rest of this cinematic abomination."

Vacuous and pointless

Shopper | USA | 09/07/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Written and directed by Neveldine/Taylor, the pair responsible for the highly entertaining "Crank", "Gamer" does not bring anything new to the table. It is basically a repeat of the "Crank" action-sequence delivery style, though stripped of its humour and set amidst a very thin, re-fried plot:

In the near future, an evil computer genius Castle (nicely cast Michael C. Hall of the "Dexter" fame), hell bent on taking over the World via mind control, can only be stopped by a father (Gerard Butler of "300", as Kable) on a quest to free himself and his family from the false persecution by the aforementioned evil computer genius. Kable is rotting in prison for a murder that was not of his doing. Like many other men and women on death row, he chooses to become an avatar in an uber violent, interactive, multiplayer game called "Slayers", Castle's brain child. Should he manage to go the full 30 rounds, he'll win a pardon and his freedom. So far, Kable has survived thru 27 rounds, the only prisoner to live that long. Both he and the teenage boy controlling the human avatar, have become international cult icons. Of course, that is not something Castle can allow to continue...

Well, shame we don't care!

The characters are unsympathetic and stereotypical (all gamers are amoral, geniuses are evil), the dialog is cut short beyond bare bones to allow for maximum saturation with the endless "run-point-shoot" sequences. So, unless you have read reviews prior to viewing, you spend the first hour uncertain which one of the characters is actually deserving of your empathy. Further eschewing the plot and character development, the directors devote long stretches of time to naked female body parts: the butt of Amber Valetta (the hero's wife) gets more screen time then the model's face. You begin to believe the Butt is written as a separate character, with its own make up, trailer, and a stunt double (you'll be relieved to know the part is non-speaking...). Furthermore, the assortment of mangled body parts freshly separated from their owners and flying thru the air every few seconds fails to tantalize. The unfolding blood bath, adequate for a computer game, is too monotonous for an action flick. "Boring" and "repetitive" are words that quickly sneak into one's mind when pondering "Gamer"'s action scenes. Yawn...

For me, the most shocking part of the film is its reported budget. At a paltry $12 million, it does not seem nearly enough to have afforded the producers the too many to mention appearances by rather well known entertainers. Shame this is not an actor's film. The imposing Terry Crews is reduced to cracking his neck menacingly while staring down the hero. Ludacris has more dialogue, but still not enough to create a memorable character. Kyra Sedwick benefits from a push up bra while delivering her lines with breathless urgency and no hopes of making a serious contribution to the plot.

On a weekend night, in an otherwise busy, large city multiplex, I was THE ONLY person seeing "Gamer". Still, based on the low budget, "Gamer" is bound to make its studio a healthy profit, especially with Gerard Butler's name attached to the project. However, this is a film that wants to be a game and sadly, that just does not work on screen...
"