I was looking for some mindless popcorn fare to cap off my Labor Day weekend and figured watching Gerard Butler blow things up was as good a choice as any. And the trailer was set to Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" which, I hate to admit, would even pump me up to read
the most boring book ever written.
However, the icing on the cake was probably
this NYTimes article on the directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who made their names directing the high octane, (relatively) low budget 'Crank' movies. 'Gamer', like '12 Monkeys' or 'Videodrome', is a dystopian film, one of my favorite genres of movies(see
previous post). The best examples of dystopian filmmaking are able to synthesize a political or societal warning or message and an entertaining plot that features some sort of journey, adventure or mystery in a highly stylized or innovative manner. 'Gamer' takes place in a future in which reality TV and video games have merged, allowing players to manipulate real people via a home console in such games as Society (think the Sims, except with real people) and Slayers, where death-row inmates compete in a gory tournament not unlike the ones seen in video games today. Shot to resemble games like Call of Duty or Halo, Neveldine claims that the film's high contrast, handheld, frenetic style serves to bring in an audience--the film's underhand objective is to criticize the volume of trashy content output by today's entertainment market.
But Neveldine and Taylor go too far to mimic the style they claim to mock. At times I had to close my eyes just to give myself a break from the contstant cutting. I thought I was going to be ill, and not from the boobs, blood, and bruisings (of which there are plenty). In the end, the visual virtuosos can't cover up what is a generally amateur entry into the genre. While there are flourishes of genius, like the Michael C. Hall dance number, the film generally remains bogged down by poor dialogue, worse acting, and a plot that's so lean, few of the supporting characters are given names, let alone motivations.The directors claim they want to criticize the type of trash they see on TV today, but the film never really feels like it succeeds in rising above.
On another note, it's these same "weaknesses" that could potentially lead this film to do robust business overseas. Video game playing teens all over the globe will probably respond much more positively than I to Neveldine and Taylor's epilepsy inducing visual style. And the sparse dialogue and lack of plot will make it easy to translate. Plus, Gerard Butler and Ludacris (in a small but highly marketed role) have decent international appeal. It will be interesting to track how this film does in ancillary markets as well. I can see it potentially having a long and lucrative career as a cult favorite.
Labels: box office, Gamer, Gerard Butler
