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Movie:		6.0
Picture:		9.0
Sound:		9.0
Extras:		8.0
Score:		8.0

Director(s):	Brian Taylor • Mark Neveldine
Writer(s):	Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor
Starring:	Aaron Yoo • Amber Valletta • Gerard Butler • Kyra Sedgwick • Logan Lerman • Michael C. Hall • Terry Crews • Alison Lohman
Genre:	Action
Website:	http://gamerthemovie.com/
Release Date:	January 19, 2010
Rated:

List Price:	DVD - $16.99 ; Blu-ray - $23.99
Amazon:

With Crank and Crank: High Voltage having cemented Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor as commentators on the modern obsession with all things pop-culture, they put forth another film which drives the point home. The basic premise of people killing other people for entertainment takes its cue from many films (and eras) which came before. Whether you go backward in time to Spartacus and Gladiator or into the oft-dystopian futures in films like The Running Man or Battle Royale, the films which use the theme rarely are able to strike a new message out of that plotpoint. The very obvious truth that we as a society have commoditized human life and violence as a form of entertainment has been the subject of many human rights debates and sociology studies. Neveldine and Taylor may not have blazed a new trail in film allegory, but with Gamer they’ve updated a very common one to fit with today’s live-by-avatar culture, polishing it with a glossy sheen of sexuality and eye candy.

His name wasn’t always Kable. Before being imprisoned in a penal system where inmates are used as characters in a first-person shooter, Kable (Gerard Butler) had a job with an emerging tech conglomerate, a wife and a daughter. Since the technology allowing people to control other people like video game avatars came online, its inventor Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall) became the richest man in the world and used the system to implement two forms of entertainment. First was the ability for gamers to control a convict in armed combat (the situation Kable finds himself in). The second version was a living copy of The Sims, humans controlling other humans from the comfort of their couch – using them to do anything their heart desires. As Castle seems to grow in power, a television host (Kyra Sedgwick), Kable, and an activist group called the Humanz (Ludacris, Aaron Yoo) attempt to discover the secret Castle has worked so hard to conceal. In order to get Kable back into the outside world, the Humanz contact his celebrated player (the guy who controls him in the game), Simon (Logan Lerman), and give him the means to make contact with Kable, something a player has never been allowed to do.

The credibility of the story requires that you pay as little attention as possible to the characters as they attempt to educate you on exactly how it is one human is able to so thoroughly control another. The basic explanation is that nano-technology inserted into your bloodstream binds with a certain area of your brain granting access to the paying customer at certain times. Furthermore, small, situation-convenient factors like genetic-specificity for every person’s nanobots attempt to prolong a bit of the film’s drama so the inevitable conclusion doesn’t come within the film’s first 30 minutes. It never really answers the question of why the villain doesn’t just assume control of everyone and lead them against the main character or why there’s a musical number (fun, though it may be).

To appreciate Gamer you need to keep your noggin focused on the issue of “How far is too far with technological innovation?” It’s an atavistic question which hasn’t been decently explored since the first Terminator films introduced Skynet. Is there a point where humanity will just stop and say, “This is far enough,” in terms of advancing technology for entertainment? The scary part of Gamer is that the concept of using real people in a first-person shooter probably seems very appealing to a few bored Halo or Gears of War enthusiasts. The same could be said of a real-life Sims environment, the ability to live out your desires in a consequence-free environment (at least for the player) would appeal to many. Though Gamer makes an important effort to show that the pawns in the game (bluntly titled “Society”) are fully conscious during the process (a woman cries as her controller submits her to rough sex, another woman weeps when she’s bloodied by a collision with a rollerblader). It’s a troubling concept in theory, and Gamer gives the idea a decent glance, but it easily warrants a deeper look in film. As is Gamer is more concerned with sex, violence and some combination of the two.

It’s a throw away, Saturday afternoon flick that’s worth a watch at least once, especially if you liked Crank.

DVD Bonus Features

A basic audio commentary, featuring the directors and a few of the actors (though neither Michael C. Hall or Gerard Butler, regrettably), offers a few insights on the film’s themes but is otherwise rather vapid. Two featurettes discuss the making of the film and the style used to create a realistic portrayal of people engaging in a real-life first-person shooter; the “making of” featurette can be skipped, but the FPS creation featurette might just be worth a look for those who really enjoyed the film. Finally, the disc also offers a theatrical trailer (which was pretty effective, I was curious after seeing it originally).

Blu-ray Bonus Features

(includes everything on the DVD version, plus...)

Besides a digital copy for your portable media player, there's a previously unseen trailer which is longer, more revealing, admittedly a lot trippier and more interesting than the one they used to actually market it. However, you can ignore all the other extras on the disc, because it's the immersive visual commentary starring Neveldine and Taylor that makes Gamer relevant for a Blu-ray purchase. They often stop the film and cut segments of production footage into the mix, making the experience longer and quite interesting. The once 95-minute film ends up with a 132-minute commentary. That's 40 minutes of extra footage compared to the DVD copy. Booya. Finally, there's even a third commentary option allowing you to turn on "Cheat Mode" which involves an icon appearing on the screen at certain times, if you click it you can select a crew member to give you their thoughts on that scene.

Bottom line? If you're hungry for audio commentaries or want to fully embrace the HD style Neveldine/Taylor are known for, then you want Blu-ray. But if it's just a mindless Saturday flick you're after, go for the DVD.