Review of Surviving the Game (1994) by Ken D — 16 Dec 2009

This movie is nothing more than the umpteenth recycling of "The Most Dangerous Game" storyline, but it's a must-see for action fans because of its amazing cast; where else are you going to see a film where Ice T is hunted down by a pack of villains made up of Rutger Hauer, Charles Dutton, F.

Murray Abraham, John C. McGinley AND Gary Busey?! This had the misfortune to come out almost immediately after John Woo's American debut, "Hard Target", which essentially had the same tired plot, but far more stylish action scenes; the plot doesn't even make a great deal of sense here since Ice T's character is a homeless person who has to be saved from committing suicide at the beginning of the film, so you'd think he wouldn't even bother to fight for his life if people were trying to hunt him down and kill him! However, the actors do manage to make this one a lot of fun, and aren't afraid to camp it up in order to make things more entertaining; Gary Busey pretty much steals the movie as a deranged psychiatrist (!!) and his warped monologue about fighting a dog to the death (capped off by Ice T's great follow-up line: "Do your PATIENTS know this story?") is almost worth the price of admission on its own.