The Gamechangers (2015)

The struggle of Houser's legal feud against American lawyer Jack Thompson, over the morality of the Grand Theft Auto video game series.

Director:

Owen Harris

Writer:

James Wood

Stars:

Daniel Radcliffe, Bill Paxton, Joe Dempsie

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Daniel Radcliffe	...	Sam Houser
Bill Paxton	...	Jack Thompson
Joe Dempsie	...	Jamie King
Lex King	...	Hillary Clinton's PA
Stephen Jennings	...	Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
Ryan Gage	...	Jounalist / Presenter / Crowd (voice)
Alex McGregor	...	Bridjet
Nathan Lynn	...	Californian Geek
D. David Morin	...	Judge Moore
Inge Beckmann	...	Michelle Gerilikos
Christiaan Schoombie	...	JP
Garth Breytenbach	...	Police Officer Arnold Strickland
Michelle Allen	...	Kiera
Kim Syster	...	US News Anchor
Nick Boraine	...	Doug Lowenstein

Storyline

In the late 1990s middle class British brothers Sam and Dan Houser and two friends, all video game enthusiasts, devise a violent new game Grand Theft Auto, set in a fictionalized America and appearing to reward a car thief for murdering anybody who gets in the way of his crimes. In Britain the Police Federation brands it as sick and contemptible whilst politician Hillary Clinton accuses it of "stealing the innocence of our children." Most vocal of its critics is crusading Florida lawyer Jack Thompson who, in the wake of an Alabama teen-ager going on a killing spree and blaming the game, attempts to get it banned, bringing a court action against the Housers and their company Rockstar Games, now based in San Diego. However Thompson's public denunciation of the game is instrumental in determining the outcome of the court case.

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Plot Keywords:

docudrama | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC Media Official Website BBC Two Official Website

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 2015 (UK)

Also Known As:

Game Changer

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, South Africa

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Scotland)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This will be the story about the creator of GTA Sam Houser the Co-founder and president of Rockstar games

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Goofs

The film features scenes where Rockstar staff can be seen as if they are programming the game in New York City where its headquarters are based; the game was produced by Rockstar North, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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Connections

References 9½ Weeks (1986)

User Reviews

An entertaining take on one of the biggest controvercies regarding video-games

The debate about the effects of violent video-games on people had existed long before GTA (when Mortal Kombat was released it was the first time I personally heard about it) but, with GTA something changed that made the debate much more heated and aggressive. Conservatives all over the world were open arms about how these evil games were turning the children into potential killing machines. Jack Thompson although not the only one, was the more well known among these people.

The movie starts one day after the release of Vice City and spans across all the creative process and release of San Andreas. Within set time frames two plot lines are follow, the legal battle between Thompson and Rockstar, and the development of San Andreas. These plot lines flow nicely and never feel too slow-paced.

I was surprised at how balanced the film was, it does not takes any sides and does not portray Thompson as just an asshole, it shows a man who believes he is doing the right thing (whether or not is truly the right thing is for us to decide) And although this story does have objectively a winner at the end, the effort of presenting the event fairly and not in a one sided manner is something to applaud for.

Daniel Radcliffe is good as Houser. I cannot say it is a remarkable performance. The same goes for Paxton's character although he projects a lot more energy into the role but, that has to do more with the way the character is written than anything else the supporting cast does the job but, there is no one particularly memorable.

The influence of The Social Network in this movie cannot be denied and its one of the reason some people have criticized this film strongly, stating that is just a carbon copy of it is not. The influences are present in the tone of the movie but, saying it is a carbon copy of David Fincher's film is more than a stretch.

All things considered, The Gamechangers is an entertaining TV movie about a controversial subject which remains still. I doubt it will be a classic by any means but, it does the job of telling the story in a fun an effective manner.