WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH!!

Rating: Null/10 (5 March 2001)

I saw this film on TV the other night, and am only glad that I didn't pay to see it at the cinema. A few points worthy of note:

Just 'cos a film's directed by David Fincher doesn't automatically mean it's a masterpiece. He's managed to acquire an undeserved reputation as a Hollywood "wunderkind", endlessly praised by 22-year-old film-school graduates (or "readers of Empire magazine", as they're more commonly known), who think that films shot with lousy lighting and lots of rain are just soooo original (see Fight Club, Seven, etc.).

Why is the plot such a copout? The film would surely have been far more impressive if it had stuck to the abstract idea of Michael Douglas being subjected to the Game for the sheer hell of it - I know it transpires in the end that the Game was the whole point, but in the meantime it degenerates into a confused hour-long car chase.

Why does Michael Douglas only seem to appear in morally repugnant films? He may look good on camera, but his overall personality seems pretty objectionable.

So there you go - The Game is over-rated, over-hyped, over-praised, and way over the top. Plus, while we're being all arty and filmy, the innercity scenes looked like they were heavily ripped off Martin Scorsese's under-rated 1985 film, "After Hours":if you haven't seen it, watch it - it knocks The Game over and TRAMPLES on it!!