Movie Review: Gamer

Date: 19 Sep 2009
Time: 11:35 pm
Location: Golden Village Plaza Singapura
Kaki: MLSA
Rating: 3.5 stars
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
GAMER is an 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. "Slayers," a first-person shooter game 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 "Slayers." Kable is controlled by Simon 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.

Review:

Well, this is one of the few posts I am making, which is sorta directly after the movie. I attribute it to the Ice Yuan Yang I had just before the movie, so that I won't fall asleep. Frankly, I am in danger of that since this is an action flick.

It was a good movie, and I have to say, the idea that we humans will become overly obsessed with the online world, to the point that we forget about the real world we live is a theme that has been done till death on the newspapers. And unfortunately, there will always be those who are mentally weak and who blur the lines between reality and the virtual world.

I love Gerard Butler to bits, as he's a very manly actor, more so than Hugh Jackman, who recently seems to have become more "pop" for some reason. Maybe it comes with popularity, that someone, Jackman has lost a bit of the edge. He needs a dark movie (non Comic Book) to regain that position.

Am still thinking a little about the movie, but I find the "Society" that was formed within the movie, like a cross between The Sims and Maple Story... where there're online marriages, etc. Hmm... well, being an extremely sane and grounded person, I have always been aware that the online world is a fictional. And the younger generation, most are aware of the same thing. Save for that precious few, and my heart goes out to them...

Anyway, barring the fact that the movie is extremely jerky (for those who cannot play first person shooter games, you better don't watch this movie), it was a good one for me. Thick in action, and entertaining from start till end. :)