I saw it Friday. I thought it was pretty good; not High Art but about 7.5/10. One thing I was impressed with was the pacing and cinematography. Everything was chopped up into such little pieces it actually cut down on the gore factor because (usually) anything super graphic was only on screen for .5-.75 seconds. ("Did I just see someone's leg blown off? Ulp...") There were a few places in the movie I'd have liked longer character moments or more exposition, but those weren't essential things so stylistic consistency was applied.
I think that the sci fi element of it is good. It's a valid exploration of how we'd use (abuse) a new technology, wrapped up in a commercial shell of ultra-violent action movie. And yeah, it's a bit like Death Race 2000 meets Ghost in the Shell meet The Running Man.
I'm getting a bit of a "new medias are evil" vibe from this one. Human contact across computers is not just false, but also exploitative, and gamers don't care that real people die for their amusement.
In other words, the movie's message goes: get off your computer, and give us more money!
I could be wrong, but that's how movies like this tend to play out, when you get down to it.
@Lightice: There is definitely that element to it. But there's also a celebratory side to it too - like, fuck yeah videogames are violent and we love it.
The trailer looks great and ive always been a fan of Gerrard Butler, even before 300! But im not going to read the spoilers (as much as I want to). just so I can enjoy it a little bit more. It does seem this year Hollywood is hell bent on releasing films that have one person taking over another. Avatar, Gamer, Surragates. Its not a bad thing, but I am seeing a trend.
I really had no interest in seeing this one, just looked like a mindless gore fest. Reminded me of deathrace, and I never really liked the whole gaming angle, just seemed like a little kid's dream plot for a movie. However, after reading this review, I just may see it....perhaps. It is hard to show what a movie's about from a wee little trailer.
@TheGreenRanger: Also, it really couldn't be further from "mindless" gorefest. Yes, it's gory - though not nearly as gory as Crank by far - but it's got a big throbbing brain up its sleeve.
@TheGreenRanger: I've been going back and forth on this one. It looked REALLY bad the first trailer I saw for it. Than on some more info I thought, "well, could be a good exploitation flick" and plus, well, Gerard Butler's all kinds of hot... *Shrug* I'll probs catch it Monday at a matinee. Got the holiday off and a buddy of mine wants to check it out. Only end up costing $6.50....
@SJ_Edwards: Mostly I was thinking of Crank II, with the greased up gun going into the guy's ass and the women's breasts exploding into globs of silicon. You won't see anything that extreme here.
@Mighty Bomb Jack: suprisingly, Sandra Bullock. Of course, all her badass-fests are only available on the underground DVD circuit, and she uses the nom-de-plume of "Bitch Killem," but they're out there...
09/08/09
I think that the sci fi element of it is good. It's a valid exploration of how we'd use (abuse) a new technology, wrapped up in a commercial shell of ultra-violent action movie. And yeah, it's a bit like Death Race 2000 meets Ghost in the Shell meet The Running Man.
09/06/09
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09/05/09
BTW, whoever edited the trailer has clearly subscribed to the Video Copilot school of twitching.
09/05/09
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In other words, the movie's message goes: get off your computer, and give us more money!
I could be wrong, but that's how movies like this tend to play out, when you get down to it.
09/05/09
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09/04/09
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09/04/09
Is Sierra in this film?
09/04/09
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09/04/09
This ad alone makes me never want to see this movie.
09/04/09
Seriously...what marketing guy approved that line?
09/04/09
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09/04/09
All those bewbs and Amber Valleta's @$$ are such a treat alongside the blood, limbs, decapitations, neck-breakings, and overall death.
2 singing numbers that actually work well too!
My 1 complaint... the ending was kinda lacklustre.