Something of a shaggy dog story but well worth the ride

Rating: 7/10 (12 December 2014)

You've got something if you can slowly ratchet up the tension and keep us guessing until the last minute, but David Fincher's The Game is essentially a high-value shaggy dog story. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but in my book a film has slightly missed the point if you can't watch it again and again.
Well, of course, you could watch The Game again and again, but once you know how it all ends, doing so becomes a little pointless. Then there's the danger that whereas the first time round we are sitting on the edges of our seats wondering where Michael Douglas's bad luck will take him next and, not least, what the hell is it all about, at second, third and maybe even fourth viewings - and knowing full well how it all plays out - the viewer will start picking holes here, there and everywhere. That would be unfair, of course, but that's exactly what we would do.
But what the hell: you are either reading this wondering whether is worth your time taking a gander, in which case I say unequivocally 'go for it'. Or you have seen it, have your own view about how good a film it is and are wondering what others made of it. In that case, you probably agree with me that it's worth the ride, but starts to lose on points the more you reflect on it.
I, too, have been looking at the opinions of others, and should warn the first-time viewer that although it is all hugely enjoyable and intriguing, it is, at the end of the day, just a piece of very well-made, thoroughly gripping hooey. Great filmmaking it ain't.