From World of Warcraft to The Sims to Second Life and beyond, people have been using technology to enter into an alternate reality. Blizzard Entertainment, the company that owns World of Warcraft, makes millions of dollars each month.
With this in mind, what would people do if they could take it to the next level? Gamer, starring Gerard Butler of 300 fame, explores the moral implications of adding realism to the gaming experience.
Gaming With Real People
In the not so distant future mad genius Ken Castle invents a way to control people with computers by physically altering the brains cellular structure. Castle, magnificently portrayed by Michael C. Hall from Showtime’s Dexter, creates a program called Society. People can either pay to control someone or get paid to be controlled. Castle takes the next obvious step with the creation of Slayers.
Slayers is the ultimate first person shooter game except the blood is real. Slayers lets gamers control death row prisoners in death matches. If the prisoner can survive 30 matches he is released. Having survived 27 such matches, Kable has become an international star as has his controller, Simon, a 17 year old kid with a silver spoon lodged in his mouth. Now will Kable be able to survive 30 death matches? Will the powers that be allow him to?
Gamer is Non-Stop Action
Gamer is pure action from beginning to end. There is always something going on whether it’s a battle, a fist fight or something else intense. Butler is right at home as Kable. He brings the grit and realism home on the big screen. Whether he’s blasting opponents in Slayers or franticly running through the streets, he’s intense and ready to explode at any second.
Hall is brilliant as the villain. People are used to seeing him play a totally different kind of crazy and he pulls it off with chilling accuracy. He may not be an action star, but he does get down and dirty a little. Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) deserves kudos for his small but important role also. He proves he’s a bad dude and has a bright future as a tough guy.
Gamer Asks the Questions
Gamer takes on the obvious role that video games play in society. How much is too much when it comes to the time put in to these online games? One of the characters that controls Kable’s wife in Society is the stereotypical sweaty, gross, overweight guy that lives his life through the game. It casts a dark light on the gamers and those being controlled.
Another concept Gamer takes on is the role of how much of our self we give to "Big Brother". There is a group called Humanz that is fighting against what Castle has created. The fear is that once people give up control of their body, those in power can take advantage of it. Gamer asks the question, “How much of our personal rights do we give up?”
Escapism in Gamer
While Gamer does take on some serious subjects in a unique way, it rarely dives deeper that the surface. It’s fast paced and moves a mile a minute with tons of violence earning its R Rating. It’s a good movie for guys to see with their buddies to escape the mundane, everyday life. It’s almost ironic. It does ask some questions that are important but the answers are not obvious in this film. Maybe they’re not supposed to be.
Shane Werlinger - Shane Werlinger has been published in anthologies and written reviews and articles for BuddyHollywood.com and reviews for Infuze Magazine ...
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