[Movie 246 / Day 259]
The latest offering from Neveldine & Taylor, the dudes that brought us Crank and Crank 2, Gamer is set in a future where the latest games will allow players to control real people. These games work by implanting the latest in nanotechnology into a volunteer’s brain who is then controlled by somebody rich enough to be able to afford to be a player in the game. The first of these games was Society – think The Sims overdosing on crack and with added prostitution. The latest game is Slayers, a first person shooter that, instead of using volunteers looking to make some money, uses death row inmates. If they last for 30 sessions, they get a full pardon. No-one had lasted for more than 10 rounds until Kable (Gerard Butler) enters the arena. At the start of the film, he is an international celebrity and is up to 27 wins. We soon learn that the inventor of these games, Ken Castle, has plans to ensure that Kable never gains his freedom. We also learn that he has nefarious plans afoot to take over the world in stereotypical movie-bad-guy style.
The plot is wafer-thin, the acting is pretty dodgy at times (several characters are terribly wooden; Butler’s stab at an American accent is woeful), and there are lots of plot holes; but it’s still huge amounts of fun. Lots of guns, blood and boobs – the same formula that made the Cranks such a blast to watch – pay off again here. Another successful piece of popcorn fluff, Gamer is instantly forgettable but fun while the ride lasts.
Rating: 
[ IMDB rating: 6.2 / 10 | IMDB link | Running time: 95 mins ]