Review of The Game (1997) by Lopez17 — 10 Aug 2010

We all enjoy playing games whether they are board games, computer games, video games, crossword puzzles, chess, Chinese checkers one-way or another we all enjoy a good game. However, enjoyment is not enough for us we need to challenge ourselves further, step up the game so to speak, so we push our limits to try new games we know nothing about and try to master them.

Each time we play, we get better and better until soon enough no one can beat us. So what do you do when you stop playing the game and the game starts playing you? David Fincher's "The Game" is a brilliant and ingenious mind teaser that takes peoples love for gaming to a completely new and terrifying level.

So when you are playing a game ask yourself one very important. Are you playing it or is it playing you? David Fincher is a master at toying with peoples minds at creating a complex and dark story weaved around the deep confines of the human mind, Fincher does not wimp out on you, he does not hold anything back he does not give into mainstream Hollywood.

No, Fincher creates stories that are so dark an depraved that only a fan of David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick or Tim Burton even could stand the full frontal brutality of Lynch's determination, hey maybe even some mainstream audiences members could handle his films I've meet a few who can.

David Fincher's second homage to the noir genre "The Game" is not one of his most focused efforts or even one of his best but what it is is one of the biggest mind games you will ever be apart of.

I liked the clammy, macabre feel of this film I liked how it bathed in bleached out colors or complete and utter darkness to bring out the full effect of the films story. It is a good film, no a great film with a fantastic story that works, and a premise that is more believable than preposterous.

"The Game" is a masterful film, a brilliant example of feverish essence in dark filmmaking, what undoes all the excellent work in this film is an ending so fluffy it makes you feel extremely cheated; it completely unravels all the extreme tension set up by the first two acts.

It insults you that you spent 1hr.55 min and then the ending does not live up to the films story or even talent in it. I will say this in its favor it did do an excellent job of keeping me involved and intrigued and this film was saved from its terrible ending by first-rate performances, eerie atmosphere and sharp direction from David Fincher.

"The Game" is enjoyable and menacing ride that may run out of steam it does not let you down form the beginning until the end. Michael Douglas is a fantastic actor he has given some of the greatest performances I have ever seen his most well know is as Gordon Gekko (His Oscar winning role.