It just doesn't make you care

Rating: 2/10 (11 July 2019)

Let me begin by saying this is easily the worst and most dissapointing "high-profile" movie I've ever seen.
It starts off well, with visually pleasing establishing shots of the world our protagonist lives in, but scene after scene it looks less organic and more off-putting. One could say it's a purposeful act that's meant to enhance the feeling of the inorganic nature of the realm we're observing. I'm not talking about that kind of "off-putting". It just looks ugly.
For most people, the glaring issue of the film lies in its hardly-believable plot, and the absurdity of the idea that Douglas' actions could be anticipated to the last detail, as well as the fact his character never really does something off-beat to disrupt the CRS. This can all be ignored if we view the film as mindless entertainment, but it takes itself far more seriously than that to let it get away with that excuse.
The atmosphere is described as dark, yet it feels comical, and the viewer is left unable to fully process the weight and severity of what's happening.
The really big issue this movie has it it fails to be everything it's supposed to. For it to be an entertaining movie of the mystery genre, the game Douglas is playing would have to be entertaining. It's not.
We see him get overwhelmed with absurd situations, that fail to create tension and entice us, instead generating sheer frustration for the viewer. After a while it just makes you indifferent to his plight, and rather than craving resolution, you wish for it to end.
On the other hand, for the film to be a compelling mystery drama, there needs to exist character progression in order to justify layers upon layers of mystery. The protagonist is supposed to be shown experiencing growth and change based on the situations he finds himself in. Bluntly said, he's supposed to come out of the game being a better person, at least that's what the supposed point of the movie is. We never really get to see the effect of "The game", not even after the grand finale, and certainly not throughout the movie. We're just supposed to take it at face value that he's a different, better person now.
This is hard thing to accept, as it robs the audience of a certain kind of reward of growth and resolution.
To sum it up, The Game fails as entertainment, mystery and character study.