Customer Reviews

Playing God

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

David Duchovny took his time off from The X-Files to star in this far fetched thriller where he plays a disgraced surgeon who is recruited by a wealthy criminal (Timothy Hutton) to perform meatball surgeries on his wounded henchmen. The plot, character development, and directing aren't anything sophisticated and are far from being anything special, but Playing God kind of works thanks to excellent performances from Duchovny, Hutton (in his best role next to The Dark Half), a pre-fame Angelina Jolie, Peter Storemare, and CSI's Gary Dourdan. Check it out if your a fan of Duchovny, just don't take it too seriously.

"Playing God" was supposed to be David Duchovny's breakout movie role; he had previously starred in movies such as "Kalifornia" and "The Rapture," but "Playing God" came out at the height of "The X-Files"'s popularity and acclaim.

You can understand what Duchovny was trying to do here, to get away from the straight arrow yet weird role of Fox Mulder. So he chooses the role of a disgraced doctor whose license to practice medicine has been revoked due to his substance abuse problems. What's a guy supposed to do?

Well, if you hang out in seedy bars where gunfights break out, you demonstrate how handy your skills can be to people who get shot and wounded a lot. Kind of like a black market surgeon. That's how Duchovny gets hooked up with crime boss Timothy Hutton.

I had great expectations for this movie when it came out, and while I was disappointed, I thought the critics were far harsher than warranted. True, Duchovny's performance, while not bad, seems very similar to what he does on "The X-Files," a sort of flat, somewhat wry, never in real danger attitude.

The biggest flaw with the movie has to be the fact that it couldn't make up its mind about what it wanted to be, film noir or dark comedy. At times, it veers toward a "Pulp Fiction"-like fascination with the minutia of being a criminal, while at other times it tries (but fails) to evoke suspense and fear. (For example, there's a scene where some bad guys want him to fix up their dead friend. The way the scene is cut in the trailer, it comes across as funny when Duchovny says, "I'll see what I can do." The way its cut in the movie, there's an intervening line of dialogue where Duchovny seems to be quite frightened; the effect of the following response is ruined.) With the excellent cast, it could have done either one competently; but its attempt to do both fails. Personally, I think the dark comedy would have been the better way to go. There's a scene near the end where Duchovny, in an elevator surrounded by Asian tourists, does a deadpan response to an annoying FBI agent that's the highlight of the movie.

In summary, this is a decent rental if you lower your expectations.

What can you get with a good script, good acting, good casting, poor editing, poor original music composition, and so-so direction? The answer: a film like this. The composer is channeling some of the worst b-movie concepts in the history of the last few decades here. There's a scene where Jolie gets shot that is so badly edited, directed, and scored you'll actually think it's intentionally botched...but I highly doubt it. Someone criticized the Director of Photography, but I didn't see any indication of incompetence in that regard here. The angles and shots you see in the final film are the fault of the director and the editor. They're not poorly lit or underexposed, and the principles look fine. The sets were also not bad, either. I would say it was likely the script that appealed to the actors and, in all honesty, how bad could some Hollywood professionals mess up a concept like this? A lot, it turns out. On the plus side, Jolie is at her most photogenic in this. You're only 21 once, after all. It's unfortunate they got rid of the romance between the doctor and her, both for the skin potential and to add more weight to the conflict at the end. In all likelihood the producers of this film simply got lucky when they happened to hire one really good casting director.

I would give it five stars because it is my favorite movie of all time, but some would say that it's far from perfect. I really like this movie because the main character, has flaws. It makes it seem more realistic to me when people in movies aren't perfect. It has good camera work that I really like. It makes for some cool shots and I never felt lost when some action was going on. It has a cool car chase, just the right amount of comedy here and there, a decent story, fairly good acting, and some good action! This definatly could have been better, but I think it has just the right combination of things to make it an enjoyable movie that I think anyone that is a fan of action or David Duchovny should definately see. I don't think you'll be dissapointed!

While it isn't the most impressive movie, Playing God does have its moments. When I first saw it, I laughed out loud at a pairing of David Duchovney and Angelina Jolie, but after the third veiwing, the characters and the story began to grow on me. Duchovny and Jolie's chemistry actually works, and Timothy Hutton is crazy, colorful and quotable as a slightly sadistic crime lord. You'll get the gist of the story from previous reviews, but the important thing with this movie is to watch it tongue-in-cheek. It's entertaining, has a certain replay value, and has enough plot holes/unbelieveable happenings/goofy dialogue to warrent a double-play, and in my case, extensive nerd-ish study. What I've gleaned from the story and the character is basically: What goes around comes around. If you like enjoyable, well-meaning cheese, check this one out!

This movie has definite re-watch-ability. The plot is tight; the acting is good; and the script is packed with great lines, well-delivered. It kept even my mother, the proverbial Mikey, alternately on the edge of her seat and shaking with laughter.

A true must-see for any fan of Timothy Hutton, David Duchovny, Angelina Jolie, dark action/comedies, or narrated movies in general.

I thought I was going to hate PLAYING GOD, but it's so ridiculous it's endearing. I hadn't laughed so hard in a while. This is one preposterous giggle-fest from start to finish, but at least the makers knew that. Completely ludicrous situations develop that the characters encounter with hilarious aplomb. Duchovny's character could do a heart transplant on a Cadillac's hood if only you gave him a spork and bungee cord. Duchovny's absurd narration overdubs alone are priceless. Cliches are satirized mercilessly. One scene, where he's riding an elevator, has Duchovny internally opining about what it's like to be a surgeon. Try and make out his bizarre analogy between surgery and flying an F-14. It doesn't make a lick of sense, of course, but the whole thing is hilarious.

Timothy Hutton -I think that's his name- plays the perfect comic badguy. The supposed gang war at the heart of this thing is totally absurdly dumb, but it makes for some great dialogue. Boris the Bulgarian was brilliant, all of his lines seemed to be delivered in mid-guffaw. Angelina Jolie seems to be the only one who's actually trying to convincingly act, but we can forgive her for that particular oversight. From script to acting to action, this movie is a plain ol' goofball fest from start to finish. Highly enjoyable.

I disagree with the negative reviews by Maltin and the other 'customer' reviewers. I found this to be an excellent action film with good acting, a screenplay that was urbane and sardonic in a Quentin Tarentino sort of way, and excellenct acting by Duchovny and Hutton. My only complaint is that Angelina Jolie's character is underdeveloped. I highly recommend this film!

Playing God was a bit of a disappointment, considering the makeup of the cast: David Duchovny, Angelina Jolie, and Peter Stormare among others, though by no means is it a bad movie.
A down-on-his-luck doctor finds himself in the company of a psychopath criminal patching up people that need to be shielded from the police...
In short, the acting is pretty good (though nothing great), the setting is average, while the dialogues and the plot are way below average.
The major setbacks are in relation to:
1) The weak plot and especially the weak dialogues, for which the writers are to blame.
2) With the exception of David Duchovny and Angelina Jolie, everyone else was sad, especially Timothy Hutton and Michael Massee who were pathetic. Just as bad were the actors playing the minor roles.
3) David Duchovny, Angelina Jolie, and Peter Stormare (who was great in Constantine) were given terrible lines. What a waste of an AMAZING cast!
It seems as though the actors/directors/producers got together for some drinks, and then decided, on the spot, to make a quick and easy impromptu film for some extra cash/spending money.
Though the potential for a good movie was definitely there it fails to take off, primarily (but not exclusively) due to the writers.
In a nutshell, it's an ok movie and that's about it; no masterpiece here... Wait till they show it on TV.

While this movie is not for everyone, if you have a wicked sense of humor and the taste for a witty, dark, and subversive look at life, this is the film for you! I can't tell you how much I LOVED this movie, both as a "cinema consumer", and as an employee at an independent video store. Not only did Playing God serve up large helpings of wry, sardonic humor and a wonderfully frenetic plot, it provided a nice-- and rare!-- opportunity to send the most jaded patron home with something "new". If you're easily offended by violence or irreverent humor, please stay far away; if not (and I'm guessing that if you're a Duchovny fan the answer is a ringing "NO!" :) then buckle up for a wild ride. The only fault I have with the movie is based on industry heresay: apparently in it's original incarnation it featured a much heavier, grittier romantic angle between Duchovny and Jolie, which would have been a welcome edition... oh, well, guess you can't get everything you want.