Gamer (2009)

Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Writers: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Composers: Robb Williamson, Geoff Zanelli

Starring: Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick, Logan Lerman, Alison Lohman, Terry Crews, Ramsey Moore, Ludacris, Aaron Yoo, Jonathan Chase, Dan Callahan, Brighid Fleming, Zoe Bell, John Leguizamo

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In the near future, you don't live to play... you'll play to live.

Plot: In a future mind-controlling game, death row convicts are forced to battle in a 'doom'-type environment. Convict Kable, controlled by Simon, a skilled teenage gamer, must survive 30 sessions in order to be set free. Or won't he?

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Alright, judging from the trailer I knew this was an all out action movie but what I didn't expect was that it would have a pretty good premise...it just lacked going in the right direction (for me, that is).  I liked the concept.  I would have preferred they went more with the heady sci-fi angle instead of making this a straight action picture.  I was frequently uninterested and I never cared about the central character, Kable.  The performances were fine (Hall was hilarious and it was nice seeing him as someone other than Dexter and that "I've Got You Under My Skin" dance routine was outrageously fun) and the action was pretty good.  I don't know, I guess I kept thinking while I was watching it that it should have been more but I suppose that's not the filmmaker's fault.  It's a good looking film that I'm sure a lot of people out there really dig.  I'm just not one of them.  The Lionsgate DVD has a few extras including an audio commentary with the writers/directors and some of the cast, two making of featurettes that total around 45 minutes, the anamorphic widescreen trailer plus a few trailers for several other Lionsgate films.