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Gerard Butler's actioneer GAME has screened! And it doesn't sound too good...

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. Gerard Butler's GAME tested last night and we got our first reaction, which ain't pretty. From the CRANK directors this seemed like a no-brainer... Gerard Butler being badass, an avatar of video game player in the future where you don't play computer-created characters, but real, living people. Dexter's Michael C. Hall as the baddie and a kind of crazy R-rated extremely violent TRON-ish movie.

Maybe Sexy Whisk, who has written in before with early reviews, is the exception to the general feeling of the flick, but I get the feeling that he wanted this movie to entertain him and was let down.

As usual, keep in mind this is a very early screening and that the filmmakers are still working on getting the film ready. Now here's Sexy Whisk with his thoughts on the flick:

Greetings Harry - it's Sexy Whisk again - Back with I believe the first ever review of the action pic "Game" - Ugh what a horrible title. I would pray to god they change it before it's eventual release - but in the meanwhile GAME is what we must call this film debacle from the creators of "CRANK" and "CRANK 2". I can only imagine how this movie was born - these creators were in the movie theater watching "Death Race" and thought aloud to themselves "whoa this would be so much cooler if it was video games, instead of car racing!"

The plot is as ridiculous as it sounds: in a not so distant future - video game players control REAL people, rather than computer generated characters. Has something to do with nano-technology and brain chips but who cares, sounds like it could be goofy fun action concept right?

WRONG - this movie was beyond boring and the action was completely unexciting.

You know these female singers who try to hit all the high notes with their "oohs" and "ahhs" all at various octaves? They do it A LOT on American Idol and well it annoys the hell out of me - just sing the damn song and stop trying to impress me with all the Mariah Carey like scatting!! Ugh! Well movies have a similar annoying fad - the jump cut. It happens a lot in action flicks - and even more often in BAD action flicks. Flicks that are trying soo hard to overdo their action sequences they intercut from 800 angles that by the end of the scene you have absolutely no idea how the character got from point A to point B. And that's no good for an action movie like this.

I'm sure most of you remember "Children of Men" - whether you loved it or hated it - you must agree how amazingly chaotic and action packed it was without ever having to cut the camera! Now that is talent. GAME however is the complete opposite - it's trying sooo hard to be exciting and fresh and appeal to "gamers" - its cuts from dark to computer screens to action to more computer screens to close-ups - its unexcusable. And trust me I looked - Michael J. Fox did not edit this movie - so what other excuse is there?

We "gamers" don't need you to over-edit the movie to keep us interested Mr. Crank Directors - we want to understand what we're seeing - we want to root for the good guy - and we want to have FUN. Sadly that's the main thing this picture is missing. Death Race was a shitty movie, but it was FUN. It had its tongue placed firmly in its cheek, it gave some great car chases, and it had an exciting dynamic between Jason Statham and the prickly warden played by Joan Allen. Game had nothing.

What's shocking is that the cast of this flick is awesome - Gerard Butler ("300")- whom I'm a big fan of - does his best Jason Statham impression and pulls it off fine - but he deserves such better material than this confusing chaotic schlock. He deserves to be a bad ass we're rooting for, not just kicking ass completely confused the entire picture. He doesn't even open his mouth until almost 20-30 minutes in. We have no idea or care about what he's doing in this bizarre prison . Then at one point, after clearly a long, long while of being slave to this "game" his teenage player talks to him. And it's played like "who are you?", "Back off player, just let me do my thing" - it makes absolutely no sense.

The villian is played by the wonderful Michael C Hall of "Dexter" fame whom I also love. But he's completely wasted here. He basically shows up twice - once in the begining with one accent, and then again in the end somehow with a seemingly different accent - but the extreme lack of inter-play between our hero and villain leaves us no suspenseful build-up, nor an exciting final showdown, merely a super boring one.

GAME takes itself way too seriously. In fact the movie is filled with these super bizarre dark scenes with sweaty obese gamers, controlling real life hot women who strip, touch themselves and pee in public. Yes they really showed a woman peeing - None of it is hot or sexy in the slightest - instead it just comes off as creepy, offensive and exploitative. Were these filmmakers trying to say something here? "Oooh People are dark and gross and fat when they're left to their own devices." Whatever. It's way too weird of a message to fit into the subplot of a film with such a silly concept.

We want a bad ass hero cleverly blowing shit up - rather than "running to a save point" every battle. We want a villain who torments our hero and knocks him down even lower. We want that hero to crawl through shit to finally meet his maker, and the beat the bloody hell out of him. And we want him to say some funny shit along the way. Sadly this game misses the mark in all accounts. Let's hope they completely re-edit and re-shoot this beast before its release date.


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Reader Talkback

Sexy Whisk?
by masteryoda007
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:10:04 AM
Shit Review
by masteryoda007
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:11:37 AM
The Makers of Crank Made a Bad Movie?
by sloanist
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:13:40 AM
BTW, If You Liked Crank...
by sloanist
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:14:47 AM
Great Review
by D o o d
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:19:53 AM
I stopped reading that the Michael J. Fox joke.
by s0nicdeathmonkey
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:23:16 AM
They Should Change The Title To "Game Over"!!!
by Media Messiah
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:37:27 AM
why the Michael J Fox comment !!!? idiot
by hesky75
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:55:14 AM
The Makers of Crank Made a Bad Movie?
by Carl XVI Gustaf
Oct 23rd, 2008
04:10:59 AM
Sexy Whisk
by deanbarry
Oct 23rd, 2008
04:16:34 AM
I'm sorry but this is not a review
by Aeghast
Oct 23rd, 2008
04:21:26 AM
Agree...
by rost
Oct 23rd, 2008
04:43:18 AM
Michael J.. Fox is a geat guy
by ranma627
Oct 23rd, 2008
04:46:14 AM
This movie is going to be even worse than they say
by blindambition238
Oct 23rd, 2008
04:46:27 AM
great*
by ranma627
Oct 23rd, 2008
04:47:20 AM
Skipping all Hollywood movies until 'Avatar'
by kwisatzhaderach
Oct 23rd, 2008
04:55:02 AM

by barrignite
Oct 23rd, 2008
04:58:10 AM
Michael J. Fox joke...
by davebaxter1989
Oct 23rd, 2008
05:44:59 AM
Hey Quint, wake the fuck up!!!
by ugh
Oct 23rd, 2008
05:56:31 AM
Quint... Harry...
by ColloquiallyBorn
Oct 23rd, 2008
06:13:26 AM
Michael J. Fox joke was utterly tasteless.
by heyscot
Oct 23rd, 2008
06:13:39 AM
this is one of those dumb reviews
by the new transported man
Oct 23rd, 2008
06:53:20 AM
The Michael J. Fox jab...
by O_Goncho
Oct 23rd, 2008
07:03:51 AM
Michael J. Fox is a national treasure;
by comedian_x
Oct 23rd, 2008
07:31:35 AM
A CANADIAN NATIONAL TREASURE....
by FUNKYFLASHMAN
Oct 23rd, 2008
07:56:23 AM
MJF joke
by Currencyboy
Oct 23rd, 2008
08:10:06 AM
I think you're all taking it too seriously
by O_Goncho
Oct 23rd, 2008
08:28:30 AM
Michael J
by TheBlackKnight
Oct 23rd, 2008
08:34:12 AM
I have to nit-pick this part -
by The Handsome 12th Doctor
Oct 23rd, 2008
08:36:41 AM
I thought the review sucked
by Purgatori
Oct 23rd, 2008
08:38:27 AM
TheBlackKnight / Michael J. Fox
by Conans Sword
Oct 23rd, 2008
08:45:36 AM
by A horse.i left out the a in my hulk like rage
by Conans Sword
Oct 23rd, 2008
08:47:15 AM
i actually thought the michael j. fox
by vaudeville villain
Oct 23rd, 2008
08:52:54 AM
Sexy Whisk vs. Michael J. Fox
by cowboyone
Oct 23rd, 2008
08:56:41 AM
Conans Sword
by TheBlackKnight
Oct 23rd, 2008
09:10:51 AM
Crank was a colossal piece of shit.
by thedarklinglord
Oct 23rd, 2008
09:25:30 AM
It's funny
by toxicbuddha
Oct 23rd, 2008
09:26:07 AM
someone joking about "DADDY SHAKES" ?
by DANNYGLOVERS_DICKBLOOD
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:04:10 AM
Game does not exist in this dojo
by Cobra--Kai
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:07:29 AM
If you make fun of someone who has a terminal condition
by Drunken Rage
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:13:37 AM
Michael J Fox as national treasure? You kidding me?
by JackRabbitSlim
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:26:56 AM
BTW - Life in general is a terminal condition
by JackRabbitSlim
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:29:00 AM
My Only Regret...
by SexyWhisk
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:32:43 AM
Leonidus and Maximus are dead both deseved sequels
by picardsucks
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:35:14 AM
oooohhh a Michael J. Fox joke
by fartedinthefaceofhollywood
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:43:43 AM
Pull this review and future reviews
by Zombieflicker
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:44:19 AM
Huh
by Theta
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:47:20 AM
I'll go on the record...
by Knugen
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:50:25 AM
Marty McFly rules.......
by tristeele
Oct 23rd, 2008
10:51:05 AM
Someone get these fuckers off Jonah Hex.
by Knuckleduster
Oct 23rd, 2008
11:05:56 AM
Moral High Ground Nonesense....
by D o o d
Oct 23rd, 2008
11:11:27 AM
MIKE J FOX HAS PARKINSONS!
by dr sauch
Oct 23rd, 2008
11:17:35 AM
that michael j fox joke
by Holodigm
Oct 23rd, 2008
11:18:38 AM
It was funnier than that "Family Guy" gag.
by Darkman
Oct 23rd, 2008
11:40:07 AM
Gerald Butler, fire your agent and manager.
by Orbots Commander
Oct 23rd, 2008
11:42:12 AM
Orbots Commander
by D o o d
Oct 23rd, 2008
12:00:35 PM
From the creators of CRANK and CRANK 2?
by uberman
Oct 23rd, 2008
12:40:51 PM
Oh well
by Cobbio
Oct 23rd, 2008
01:41:41 PM
Fox
by Cobbio
Oct 23rd, 2008
01:57:14 PM
I liked Crank
by Dominic-Vobiscum
Oct 23rd, 2008
02:02:12 PM
I stopped reading when he said
by kuryakin
Oct 23rd, 2008
02:11:22 PM
Sexy WHisk
by kuryakin
Oct 23rd, 2008
02:18:12 PM
Sexy Whisk
by kuryakin
Oct 23rd, 2008
02:24:31 PM
MJF joke
by Subtlety
Oct 23rd, 2008
02:33:44 PM
Response
by Cobbio
Oct 23rd, 2008
02:58:19 PM
Back to the film...
by TELF
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:09:33 PM
shit review
by ragingdrunklove
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:19:49 PM
The premise of this movie is fucking stupid
by Bass Bastardson
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:23:19 PM
Also, I'll bet that all the whiners crying about the Fox joke
by Bass Bastardson
Oct 23rd, 2008
03:27:24 PM
Michael J. Fox joke?
by odo19
Oct 23rd, 2008
05:01:08 PM
Cobbio
by Subtlety
Oct 23rd, 2008
06:29:31 PM
"Actioneer" WTF does that mean?
by I Dunno
Oct 23rd, 2008
07:16:22 PM
This is how much attention I'm going to give it:
by kabong
Oct 23rd, 2008
08:50:36 PM
Good times...
by Mr.FTW
Oct 24th, 2008
12:20:59 PM
Sounds good to me.
by Archive
Sep 3rd, 2009
11:20:08 AM

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