Customer Reviews

The Game

5 star:		(146)
4 star:		(53)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

What happens when you are a powerful multi-millionaire and have everything you ever wanted? While you and I might think this situation is highly desirable, for Nicholas Van Orton, played by Michael Douglas, it is very boring. In fact, you might say that Nicholas is miserable. However, Nicholas' brother Conrad Van Orton, played by Sean Penn, has bought Nicholas a gift for his 48th birthday, an invitation to play "The Game".

From this point forward the movie drags for what seems forever. I was beginning to regret watching this movie. Looking back, though, I now know that this beginning helps us to more fully understand how boring and awful Nicholas' life is, and further provides an excellent contrast with what happens later in the movie.

Nicholas is in a very upscale restaurant when a waitress (Deborah Unger as Christine) spills wine on his shirt. Christine is fired by the restaurant manager and leaves, very upset. Before you can say white rabbit, a waiter rushes by Nicholas' table and drops off a note that tells Nicholas' to follow the girl. Prepare for the roller coaster ride.

Within moments Nicholas finds himself involved with an apparently dying man, then just as quickly he finds he is being chased by the police, and police dogs, and things just get worse and worse. The list of things to which Nicholas is subjected is too long and would leave you with no surprises.

Nicholas tries to figure out how to make all the action and events to which he is being subjected stop. Nicholas can't handle the loss of control. Further, the chaos of his experiences seems to follow no pattern or order. Eventually Nicholas gets back to where he thinks it all began for a showdown with the characters that he has discovered are actors. The ending had me stunned and amazed. You'll have to watch for yourself.

There are several lapses in credibility, but unless you are an obsessive control freak (sort of like Nicholas Van Orton, for instance) you'll likely consider the lapses minor. This movie ultimately is an intelligent thriller that relies on action only when necessary to heighten Nicholas' fears and to pull him deeper into what begins to seem like a deeply nefarious conspiracy. After watching, this movie became one of my favorites, and I've now seen it several times.

The most difficult part of this movie is the relatively slow first part. However, have patience; what you learn in the first part helps you to understand Nicholas and to be drawn more fully into his situation. Sympathy with Nicholas and his situation is highly desirable to fully appreciate the end of the movie. I was sympathetic, and enjoyed this movie. 5 stars for an intelligent thriller that relies on intelligent plot versus guns, fast cars and special effects.

The Game was directed by Fight Club director David Fincher and in many ways it prepares the viewer for the twists and turns of Fight Club. Michael Douglas as control junky investment banker Nicholas Van Orton is given an invitation to "the game" by his younger brother Conrad (Sean Penn). Before Van Orton knows it the game has started and it takes him on journey where he is in the dark so to speak and he never really gets out of it until it is over. Other reviews have said that it has no sense of humor, this movie doesn't need one. it's mysterious and intellectual strength is more than enough to keep most people fixed to it. Others have said that the ending is anticlimactic. If one cannot appreciate the ending of this movie, they haven't been paying attention. If you want a movie that makes you think, this movie is for you. my friends and i started it sometime after midnight a couple years ago and we didn't sleep for an hour after it was done because it made us think that much. the movie buff will not be disappointed.

Once in a while you come across a great thriller. To accomplish this you have to have a great story line, superb acting and cinematography, a generous budget and an excellent styling consultant so that everything's just perfect. And The Game has all these aspects. A wealthy financier (Michael Douglas) who has apparently everything and is bored with life gets a surprise birthday gift from his brother (Sean Penn): the participation in a very interesting and intense game. It is one of these movies that is unpredictable for the most part with action scenes that will take your breath away. The ending is unique and an unpredictable surprise and it gives the movie the final edge to classify it as one of these rare top-rated thrillers.

I gave this flick a 7 out of 10 over at IMDB, but I would give it a 1 out of 10 for it's HD transfer. The movie in HD looks absolutely dull. Save yourself a few bucks and buy the standard DVD title. You'll end up with the same video quality.

Anyone who claims this movie was predictable, or that the ending was a let down obviously didn't get it. I regret that there are those who didn't bother suspending their disbelief for even a second to try and grasp the whole purpose of the film.

I have reapeatedly recommended this movie to friends, telling them always, "This is the only movie I can promise you won't guess the ending to." At first watch, no matter how many times you think you've got it, you still don't. Without saying too much, the second viewing lets the purpose of the plot sink it, and your understand the sort of "suicide intervention" that takes place, as Douglas's character finally understands himself, his true motives, and his emotional health, independant of all the money in the world.

This may not make much sense to someone who has never seen this, but I don't want to ruin "The Game" for you. Buy it, watch it, play along, and you'll love it.

I saw this movie when it first came out. Upon first viewing, I enjoyed it for several qualities. Director David Fincher provides a really creepy, eerie atmosphere to the story. The cinematography has a dark, eerie look (as in Seven). The music (such as the tinkering piano) has a way of creeping up on you. Michael Douglas is terrific, as usual. Towards the 2nd half however, I started to lose interest. I found the story was just cranking on and on with no point. By the end, I was dissappointed with the payoff. I felt it didn't have to go on so long to explain it's point. I guess this is the reason it didn't perform so well at the box office. The 2nd time I watched this was a different story. Knowing in advance about the ending, I could pay more attention to the meaning of all of the scenes (I don't want to give too much away). The early flashbacks are there to tell you what kind of unhappy, selfish, lonely person Douglas is like. As the movie progresses, you begin to see him changing as he is going through the game. This is the whole point of the story, not what is really going on. By the time the payoff has come around, you are touched with what has occured. The viewer is not really supposed to be surprised at the end, but emotionally moved. What I really would like to see someday is a DVD with Fincher's director's commentary. This is such a complex movie where each scene needs to be explained. I hope David Fincher does that someday (like the new Seven DVD). One minor note: For those of you complaining about how far fetched the movie is, this movie is supposed to be unreal. I could not believe one minute of it, but Fincher makes it clear he doesn't want you to believe in it. The Game is part mystery, part fantasy (as in the Twilight Zone).

+++++

"What do you get for the man who has everything?"

This is the question Conrad Van Orton (Sean Penn) asks himself. Conrad is the wayward brother of control-freak Nicholas (Michael Douglas), a wealthy and aloof San Francisco investment banker whose 48th birthday is coming up.

Conrad finally decides on a unique birthday present: a gift certificate to "Consumer Recreation Services" (or "CRS"). The service provided by CRS is a game.

A friend of Nicks who has already "played" the game gives him a hint of what it's about by quoting a passage from the Bible:

"Whereas once I was blind, now I can see."

Once Nick officially signs up for the game a series of bad and bizarre things begin happening to him, things beyond his control and things designed to make him lose his high status.

There is actually a double climatic ending that, in my case, I found emotionally satisfying.

Michael Douglas does a good job of portraying the aloof investment banker whose life has suddenly spun out of control. Sean Penn who only appears in a few scenes makes the best of his limited screen time.

The background music enhanced each scene. This movie was also well photographed.

There are two major problems I found with this movie:

First, it is far-fetched. This is supposed to be a game where everything is controlled. However, some of the things that happen to Nick are totally uncontrollable.

Second, the movie is much to long. Because of its long length, it became tedious for me to watch. In my opinion, this movie could have been a half hour shorter and still presented an effective story.

Finally, the DVD itself is perfect in picture and sound quality. It has the movie in wide screen on one side and full screen on the other. There are minimal extras.

In conclusion, despite its problems, this is still an interesting and unique movie!!

*** 1/2

(1997; 2 hr, 10 min; wide screen/full screen; 19 scenes; rated `R')

+++++

"The Game" is Michael Douglas at his finest in his portrayal as a Type A workaholic at the top of his game.

His somewhat underachieving brother, portrayed by Sean Penn, gives Douglas a birthday gift in the form of a "game" where reality takes a dive and Douglas' life goes into a spin. Although there were a few areas that were a little hard to follow - the premise of this reality game is so imaginative and real. It is only when Douglas hits rock bottom that he realizes how isolated from the real world he has become and what is truly important in life.

I thought this movie was insightful and masterful. I watch it frequently and it always delivers a powerful message.

Having read about 60 of the reviews for this film, I can't believe no-one has offered the opinion that this film is basically a religious allegory - a sinner, whose disdain for other people shows in his attitude to his ex-wife, and brother - has taken away from him all that he possesses (or is possessed by). He is restored, redeemed if you will, by the mysterious operations of CRS. It seems fairly obvious.
Looked at like this, the plot and the ending (which seem to have outraged so many of the reviewers) don't call so much for a suspension of disbelief as a willingness to participate in the symbolic coherence of the allegory. I'm not a Christian, but I can admire the courage of a film that dares to push the narrative so far, and in such a direction.
Douglas is excellent as the central character hardly trying at all not to repeat the "fall" of his father (until CRS comes along), while Penn, to his enormous credit, makes a credible brother. Unger I like to think of as the presiding angel of the film, one who appears as a nuisance to Douglas, but leads him eventually through the shadows - and she does very well too.
One other thing - the score, by Howard Shore, is terrifically simple, plangent and tense by turns; the film would not please so much without it.

Nicholas Van Orton ( Michael Douglas) is an extremely wealthy San Francisco banker who owns everything he could possibly want. Unfortunately, he is also extremely lonely, because he has no one to share it with. Nicholas is turning 48, and his strange and eccentric brother Conrad ( Sean Penn)wants to give Nicholas the perfect gift for his birthday. Conrad gives him an invitation to a company called Consumer Recreation Services, that specializes in creating games that are designed specifically for the participant. Unable to resist, Nicholas decides to go through with it. However, soon after Nicholas signs up, very strange and horrible things start to happen to him, which leads Nicholas to believe that the game he is involved in, will have him playing for his life.

"The Game" is without a doubt one of the most thrilling and suspenseful films I have ever seen. I was literally drawn into the film from beginning to end. Nothing is what it seems in this film. The end is perhaps the film's best feature because it is completely unpredictable. There are so many twists and turns, that the movie may appear confusing at times. But if you are willing to give the concentration and patience that is needed, watching The Game can be a very rewarding experience. Michael Douglas is an amazing actor, and it shows in this film. You legitimately come to feel for his character, because of how well he portrays the character breaking down. Watching Michael Douglas's character lose control of his life is frightening and somewhat amusing as well. Sean Penn, Deborah Unger, and the rest of the cast all do a great job as well.

Overall, "The Game" is probably one of the best psychological thrillers ever made. The film is unpredictable and suspenseful from beginning to end, and the performances given from Michael Douglas and company could not have been better. My only advice with this film is that you be willing to pay attention and concentrate on what is going on. This is a film that you need to use your mind when watching.