Smarter than one may think.

Rating: 9/10 (18 April 2002)

**SEMI-SPOILER**
The Game is a wonderful film. I could stick with saying just that, but this film is getting highly criticized for it's tendency to be "unrealistic" or too "out-there". But David Fincher has this movie more in his control than we think. I hear a lot of "Well, how did they know he would do exactly this" or "There's no way to tell he would've gone here or here". But what we are supposed to understand is that the "Company" has got this totally organized. They are very thorough with their attention to detail, and we can see this in the scenes where Nicholas is getting examined, tested, or whatever you want to call it by the "Company". It is evident that lots of hard work and time were put into this one small factor of the plot. I mean, tests are created, workers are hired, an entire office building floor is setup. You think that with how hard the "Company" worked on that one thing, that they would mess up on something so small as getting Nicholas to go one way or the other? This was obviously a professional team of workers, if he didn't go where they wanted him to, they would've MADE him go there. If he didn't escape or didn't take the right key or use the right words or fall into the right situation, they would have had to make it happen. This is evident if you watch the film close enough. And one might say that the idea of this kind of controlled living would be impossible. Well then why was it so easy to believe in say, the Truman Show? But enough of that, onto the film itself. David Fincher did a wonderful job of drowning us into this dark world along with the character of Nicholas Van Orton. The settings were perfect and eerily dark, it had an gritty urban feel to it the whole way through. Nicholas Van Orton is played wonderfully by Michael Douglas, as we remain just as confused as him throughout the film. It's very interesting to see how this methodical, serious-as-a-heart-attack millionaire starts to lose his mind, and how he goes back to the basic human instincts that anyone would use to get to the bottom of this situation. Fincher did a good job of helping us connect with his character throughout the stages of the film. The best part about this movie is that you HAVE to watch the whole thing. The first part gets you captivated, the second part gets you confused and curious along with Nicholas, the third part gets you very much so involved, and then BANG, the ending comes and you are blown away. And anyone who says they could've predicted it is lying. This film had not one but TWO shock endings, and they are both done perfectly. This film was the first I had seen from David Fincher, and he had quickly became one of my favorite directors shortly after. If you haven't seen this, you probably shouldn't have read this review, but I still suggest seeing it. Soon.