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Title: Gamer (2009)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Gerard Butler | ... | Kable | |
| Amber Valletta | ... | Angie | |
| Michael C. Hall | ... | Ken Castle | |
| Kyra Sedgwick | ... | Gina Parker Smith | |
| Logan Lerman | ... | Simon | |
| Alison Lohman | ... | Trace | |
| Terry Crews | ... | Hackman | |
 |
Ramsey Moore | ... | Gorge |
| Ludacris | ... | Humanz Brother (as Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges) | |
| Aaron Yoo | ... | Humanz Dude | |
| Jonathan Chase | ... | Geek Leader | |
| Dan Callahan | ... | Backup Geek | |
| Brighid Fleming | ... | Delia | |
| Johnny Whitworth | ... | Scotch | |
| Keith Jardine | ... | Mean Slayer | |
Ken Castle is extremely rich, popular and powerful since he invented and started exploiting the virtual online parallel reality games, in which people can either pay as user or be paid as 'actor' in a system of mind-control. The ultimate version, Slayers, fields death row convicts as gladiators in a desperate dim bid for survival, which no-one made yet. The champion, John 'Kable' Tillman, was scheduled to die just before he'ld gain release, but he persuades his teenage 'handler' to hand over the reins so he can fully use his talents and experience. Thus Kable escapes to freedom, only to be chased illegally by Castle's men, yet fights back all the way to his HQ and challenges his evil hidden plans. Written by KGF Vissers
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The previews of Gamer didn't terribly appeal to me. However, after reading some initial reviews and seeing that the people over at Joblo found it to be pretty decent, I thought I would check it out. Was it what I thought it would be? Kind of. Was it entertaining? Sure.
Gamer is, first and foremost, mostly a brainless action film in the vein of Crank and other hyperkinetic actioneers, which is presented in fast, somewhat jittery cuts. There's plenty of ultraviolence here and a world of uber-tech that revolves around mind control and the next phase in adult entertainment. While the premise seems a bit silly, with some people subjecting themselves to more demeaning elements, it is a bit thought provoking, which is kind of nice in an action film. It does edge close to Schwarzenegger's Running Man, although this film stands on its own with a stern Gerard Butler and over-the-top Michael C Hall.
Still, you can't help but feel detached from everything. The film rushes itself, finally slowing down to a decent pace at the end, with an ending that is very fitting and entertaining. However, most of it is a mix between speedy action and lackluster dramatic scenes. Why Leguizamo is in this film, I have no clue. There is enough action and techno-gunk here, however, to make for an entertaining 90 minutes. There's also plenty of T&A, which is rare in films these days, although I found most of it to be not veyr attractive. The interesting thing is that the film does do a good job of creating a world that could potentially exist. No matter how disturbing some elements in the film may be, they seem to have an air of truth, and that elevates this film just-above-average.
Although it is certainly a film with many short comings, it's entertaining and presents an interesting world with some scary realizations. Let us hope that, in our lifetime, we don't see this sort of thing happen.