"Happy Birthday, Nicky..."

THE GAME (R) 

Reviewed September 13, 1997 - Check out The Game's web site.

In The Game, Michael Douglas stars as Nicholas Van Orton, a multi-millionnaire Investment Banker living the good life in San Francisco.  Wealthy, powerful, and smugly confident, Van Orton is one of those "in control" type of personalities...a man who has everything he wants and needs.  "What do you get a man who already has everything?"  How about a gift certificate to Consumer Recreation Services (CRS)? 

Courtesy of his brother Conrad (Sean Penn), Nicholas signs on with CRS without knowing exactly what he's getting into.  "It's a game," he's told.  The only problem is, he won't know when the game starts, he won't know what the game's about, and (as it turns out), he won't know how to stop the game once he's in it.  Before long, Nicholas' organized life begins to fall apart around him, as he finds himself threatened, chased, shot at, and generally placed in one life-or-death situation after another.  What's going on?  Who's behind all this?  Through most of The Game, both Nicholas and the audience are left in the dark, never knowing who to trust or what's around the corner.  The result is both fun and frustrating, and depending on your mood, The Game is bound to come off as either extremely entertaining or unbelievably annoying. 

Directed by David Fincher (Alien3 and Seven), The Game has its share of witty lines and memorable scenes.  With plot twists that could confuse even the most seasoned suspense film viewer, The Game will (perhaps to a fault) keep you guessing until the very end.  So, if you feel like being stuck in a maze for a couple of hours, you've found your film.  However, if you don't feel like being left in the dark (and I'm talking about the film, not the movie theater) for an extended period of time, stay away from this one.  Trust me, you won't know quite what's happening for a long, long, time...

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

jessfroggy@prodigy.net gives this movie  stars: "This movie is really good u dont know whats going on till the very end there are surprises at every conner . its full of action" (8/18/99)

off@refosk.znn.com gives this movie  stars: "This is one of the best moovies i have ever seen. It's so perfect and dark!" (7/7/99)

demi_moore9@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "The best movie in the world" (3/16/99)

diezy7@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "This is a great movie!!! Since SEVEN I don't have so much fun, you must see it..." (3/2/98)

cus55@yahoo.com gives this movie  stars: "This is a tormenting exercise in the dark depths of human emotion, played in superb style by Michael Douglas. There is such an originality to this film, while similar in some respects to its predecessor "Seven", with the plot taking so many twists and turns it could send an innocent viewer crazy. The ending was one of the best twists I have ever seen on film, yet there was something about the film that annoyed me....maybe it was just a little *too* dark." (12/11/97)

tkemp@sosstaffing.com gives this movie  stars. (11/19/97)