Media

Home Theater Movie Renter's Guide - March, 2010

"Gamer" (Blu-ray) - Reviewed by John Johnson

Synopsis

Many movies seem to be centered around real people in video game-like worlds these days, and this one is about a game called "Slayers".

The participants are convicted criminals, whose brains have been implanted with nerve cells that allow people outside the game area to control their actions, and in this game, the goal is to kill, kill, and kill some more. The idea is, "Who cares, these are just convicts."

A software engineer named Ken Castle (Hall) has created the game, and of course, there is a s*** load of computers that manage the players.

The superstar of the game is John Tillman (Butler), whose name in the game as a player is Kable. He is simply unstoppable, and Castle makes the most of it by creating action areas where Kable has to wade his way through numerous opponents. He is so good at it, that he decides he can get out of the game altogether, something Castle cannot allow.

So, Castle threatens Tillman with harm to his wife Angie (Valetta) and daughter, and John must find a way to escape the bloody world of Slayers and save his family at the same time.

 

Commentary

Like most of the other films of this ilk, Gamer has tons of action, explosions, and blood everywhere. Gerard Butler has appeared in several of them recently, including Law Abiding Citizen, reviewed below. Serving as Producer helps to get them out fast I suppose.

Technical

The transfer has an extremely sharp image, and the 7.1 audio is splendid. As I have said before, when movies go to the trouble of having 7.1 sound, they use all the channels, all the time.

Extras

These include The Making of, Director and Cast Commentaries, The Evolution of Red, Gamer Cheat Codes, and BD-Live.