Imagine a version of THE RUNNING MAN, updated to the 21st century, and cross it with the popularity of modern-day video games (mainly Second Life and Call of Duty) and you have GAMER, an action film just as cheesy as the Schwarzenegger "epic". GAMER is the latest hyperventilation from the directing duo who brought us the two CRANK films, and its similarly outlandish, with a no-holds-barred approach to sex and violence. Sad to say, it's also pretty awful, one of those films which is going to date quickly and which has a dull-witted script keen to go through the usual clichés and gross-out moments.From the beginning, your mind is assailed by all manner of outrageousness: stripping teenagers, sexual scenarios, bloody 'gib' hits in a video shooter played in 'real life'; all depicted via a frenetic medium that never stays on a single shot longer than a second and which makes for headache-inducing viewing in all but the most casual viewer. Yes, this is another of those films squarely aimed at the teenage male market, and even though I'm not 30 yet, I had the distinct impression that I was "too old for this".High art it ain't: the dialogue is extremely lowbrow, the on-screen action frequently ludicrous. Gerard Butler seems to accept any old film that comes his way, and GAMER is another in a strong of disappointments for the Scottish star. He grunts and frowns his way through a one-dimensional character arc and the best you can say about him is that he's fairly believable. The supporting cast is made up of tired stereotypes: Michael C. Hall is the worst thing here as the utterly irritating 'nerd' super-villain, and Kyra Sedgwick (Kevin Bacon's squeeze) fairly appalling as a TV journalist. Logan Lerman, so good in 3:10 TO YUMA, is distinctly bland, and Ludicrous leads a band of utterly clichéd hacker geeks. The genuinely interesting actors, John Leguizamo and Keith David, are tucked away in nothing roles. The only character of distinction is Terry Crews' hulking brute of a villain, a man whose body mass rivals that of Aussie wrestler Nathan Jones, but apart from a single menacing scene, he's also wasted. Worst of all is the script's attitude to women, who are treated as victims (dying quickly and brutally) or as sex objects. Amber Valletta (TRANSPORTER 2) has a particularly demeaning role, forced to bend about in her underwater for endlessly repulsive scenes.So, apart from crude sex references and a predictable script, what are we left with? A handful of action sequences is the answer, and these would be good – if it wasn't for the dumb editing. The whole 'fight for your life' theme was done better in the DEATH RACE remake with Jason Statham, but there are some mildly entertaining moments here too, mostly involving Butler blowing away countless enemies and breaking one particularly loathsome character's back over his knee. The extended climax offers some one-vs-many fun too, even if the homage to WARRIOR KING is a little too obvious for my liking.

The world of gaming has been growing for years and years, and will continue to grow as long as new and exciting games are being produced. The film Gamer (2009) represents one possible outcome for the gaming community in the not-so-distant future using a beautiful combination of several unique characteristics: presentation being key. It is common knowledge that when the year 2000 came around, widespread panic ensued because it was thought technology would begin destroying the planet in some horrible fashion only SkyTech would be able to commence- a ridiculous notion to those alive today. Gamer not only elaborates on the fear of technology, it also presents several reasons for technology to be feared. The film is shot in a sporadic way, offering scenes of nothing but plot twists and action, which is very similar to how video games are presented. In a video game, the characters get right to the point of what they're saying, and the plot builds from hardly any background information at all, just like this film. The motion capture in a game is also very rough and meant to really place you at the scene, and the filmography also attempts at presenting this connection. The film Gamer wasn't an outstanding movie, but it was, however, a wonderful presentation of the gaming community and a great way to express what it is like to be a gamer to the non-gaming personnel.

Photography and choreography are really fine in this film. Acting is fair and the plot contains some ideas which are pretty unusual in sci fi, AFAIK. The main idea looks like eXistenZ (1999) or The Thirteenth Floor (1999) but actually it is more powerful because the fighters are real, not virtual: when characters die they die for real.I was impressed by costumes and environment of the "game" Society: they are really fun; scenes from the "game" Slayers look like an actual video game. I enjoyed it very much it deserves attention although the IMDb score is so low.I give it 8/10

Gamer, directed by Neveldine/Taylor is set in a dystopic future where the global prison system puts criminals, convicts and death row inmates in a game called Slayer, where a user takes control of the prisoner's body, and sends them into all-out war. Survive 30 rounds, and you're set free. The only problem is, no one has ever beat the game. When death row inmate Kable (Gerard Butler), the icon of Slayer, discovers he's a part of a conspiracy involving Slayer, Society (another game where people control people) and Ken Castle, the man who created both games. Will Kable survive long enough to expose the plot, or be another victim to the game.Gamer is certainly a creative and entertaining movie, one that's not based on a video game, but a movie about video games. Neveldine/Taylor are strange and inventive directors, but not the best (Crank 2 and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance are examples of their failures). Though, here, they are at their best. With gritty, "in your face" camera work and non-stop violence, Gamer certainly takes action to another level. Although, their writing is poor here. Almost all of the footage involving Society, a Sims-esque reality, is all about sexual drive. So, really, that's the biggest low-point of Gamer; where they show Society being all about sex. The high-point of Gamer, though, is the acting. Gerard Butler is better here than in 300, and Michael C. Hall as Ken Castle was just amazing. A scene towards the end where Kable and Ken come face-to-face, and with Castle's goons is just phenomenal (also, the best written scene). The visual effects are good for a lower-budgeted film, and the soundtrack is good and fitting. I just wish they got rid of a lot of the sexual content from the movie because, if they did, and focused more on the regular prison life outside Slayer (as well as life outside Society) the movie would have been truly great.7/10 Stars