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Gamer

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Gamer (2009)

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Reviews Counted:68

Fresh:20

Rotten:48

Average Rating:4.3/10

Consensus: With all of the hyperkinetic action and none of the flair of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor's earlier work, Gamer has little replay value.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

US Box Office: $20,488,579

Synopsis: GAMER is a high-concept action thriller set in a near future when gaming and entertainment have evolved into a terrifying new hybrid. Humans control other humans in mass-scale, multi-player online... GAMER is a high-concept action thriller set in a near future when gaming and entertainment have evolved into a terrifying new hybrid. Humans control other humans in mass-scale, multi-player online games: people play people...for keeps. Mind-control technology is widespread, and at the heart of the controversial games is its creator, reclusive billionaire Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall). His latest brainchild, the first-person shooter game "Slayers," allows millions to act out their most savage fantasies online in front of a global audience, using real prisoners as avatars with whom they fight to the death.

Kable (300's Gerard Butler) is the superstar and cult hero of the ultraviolent "Slayers." Kable is controlled by Simon, a young gamer with rock star status who continues to defy all odds by guiding Kable to victory each week. Taken from his family, imprisoned and forced to fight against his will, the modern day gladiator must survive long enough to escape the game to free his family, regain his identity and to save mankind from Castle's ruthless technology.

GAMER stars Gerard Butler (300, THE UGLY TRUTH), Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”), Amber Valletta (TRANSPORTER 2), John Leguizamo (RIGHTEOUS KILL, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13), with Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, and Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”).

Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment present a Lakeshore Entertainment/Lionsgate Production. GAMER is a Neveldine/Taylor Film. --© Lionsgate [More]

Starring: Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Kyra Sedgwick

Starring: Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Kyra Sedgwick, Amber Valletta, Logan Lerman, Alison Lohman, Terry Crews, John Leguizamo, Zoe Bell, John De Lancie, Aaron Yoo

Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Screenwriter: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Producer: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright, Skip Williamson
Composer: Robert Williamson, Geoff Zanelli
Studio: Lions Gate Films

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Gamer

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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At times striking, and at others silly, and and yet at others sickening, but never too stupid, at least not compared to so much else flash and pop peddled to the masses these days.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
12/17/09
William Goss
William Goss
Cinematical

a big, loud mess that loses its few good ideas in a morass of convoluted storytelling that it has, sadly, confused with stylish innovation

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/12/09
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

A streak of genius runs through this dystopian vision of a world in where VR games are played with real people ... it touches some exposed nerves before retreating into clichés.

Full Review Source: AMCtv.com | comment Comment
11/03/09
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
AMCtv.com

Gamer feels like a video cheapie that just time warped in from the 1990s . . .

Full Review Source: fantastiqueZINE | comment Comment
11/02/09
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
fantastiqueZINE

Like the 'Crank' films, this is an absurdly exaggerated, outlandishly crass and alternately inventive and appalling depiction of a man violently fighting to liberate himself from the forces that seek to control him...

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
09/21/09
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

An injection of adrenaline straight to the eye – which isn’t entirely a bad thing.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
09/18/09
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you are a gamer, and like shooters, science fiction, action, and wouldn't consider gratuitous boob shots gratuitous, you won't feel short-changing on leaving the cinema after watching Gamer.

Full Review Source: Film4 | comment 2 Comments
09/18/09
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Film4

Can I get back the ninety minutes of my life that I squandered sitting through this miasmic upchuck of techno sludge? What was the story again?

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment 6 Comments
09/18/09
Sukhdev Sandhu
Sukhdev Sandhu
Daily Telegraph

With its nano-technology synching different brains together, spyware programs attached to DNA, and a double dose of bad taste served up with a side-dish of splattered brains and skull fragments, Gamer is still mad, bad, and dangerous to know.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
09/18/09
Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies

It won’t win points for originality or depth, but the Crank boys are still on their game as far as sex, violence and sheer unapologetic excess go. High concept, high octane, highly likely to end up a post-pub staple.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
09/18/09
Tony Horkins
Tony Horkins
Total Film

While packed with guns, girls and gore, there's none of the gleeful knowingness that made their earlier films such guilty pleasures.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment 1 Comment
09/18/09
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Edited with the finesse of a toddler on a sherbet dib-dab rush, the film dashes from one over-stylised battle sequence to the next.

Full Review Source: SFX Magazine | comment 4 Comments
09/18/09
James White
James White
SFX Magazine

The action sequences are disappointing, there's a distinct lack of wit or invention in the direction and it's also impossible to care about the characters when they're so thinly sketched.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
09/18/09
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

The film is a cacophonous mess without a single interesting character.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment 4 Comments
09/18/09
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor deserve some credit for being upfront about their desire to deliver purely adrenaline-driven action cinema and for making it look brilliant.

Full Review Source: Scotsman | comment Comment
09/18/09
Alistair Harkness
Alistair Harkness
Scotsman

Were Stanley Kubrick and Russ Meyer alive and their minds merged "Being John Malkovich"-style, the clash of their ids and egos might yield "Gamer." It will make you feel putrid, but it's satire that's sadistic, salacious and audaciously entertaining.

Full Review Source: Suite101.com | comment Comment
09/17/09
Nick Rogers
Nick Rogers
Suite101.com

attempts to lure audiences in with its fast-action but also provides a surprisingly thoughtful commentary on control and freedom and the means some will go to achieve it.

Full Review Source: Gazette (MD) | comment Comment
09/11/09
Jeffrey Lyles
Jeffrey Lyles
Gazette (MD)

Puts the viscera in visceral but a thought-provoking exploration of our increasingly disconnected society in drag as mindless action.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
09/10/09
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

Takes itself far too seriously, saying nothing of timeliness or value in a banally overblown fashion.

Full Review Source: Mark Reviews Movies | comment Comment
09/10/09
Mark Dujsik
Mark Dujsik
Mark Reviews Movies

Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have slowly started garnering actual critical consideration for their Crank movies; with Gamer, they make another good case for taking them seriously.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
09/10/09
Vadim Rizov
Vadim Rizov
L.A. Weekly
 
 
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Latest News for Gamer

September 04, 2009: Five Favorite Films with Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
Rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges has established himself in the acting community with roles in movies like "Crash" and his latest, "Gamer," alongside Gerard Butler. Find out what... More...

September 04, 2009: Neveldine and Taylor Talk Gamer Opens in new window
It's a happy weekend for action lovers any time Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have a movie heading into theaters -- and in a new interview with Collider, the writing/directing... More...

July 02, 2009: The Friday Harvest: Ice Age 3, Gamer, Daybreakers, and more!
More...

May 25, 2009: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

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