"The Game" is only for our amusement, the purest of thrillers

Rating: 6/10 (17 June 2009)

The mere title "The Game" suggests a sort of fabrication for our entertainment, and that is precisely what this film does. From the first cue to the final fade out, "The Game" is created for the sole purpose of giving its plot-sniffing audience something to mull over and over again amidst a series of 180-degree twists and turns. It is the very pinpoint definition of the thriller genre. Other films mix thriller with drama or action/adventure, but "The Game" provides neither of these to any real extent and instead opts to be the finest example of exploiting an audience's love for the guessing game.
"The Game" is entertaining. Michael Douglas gets all dressed up for us Gordon Gekko style again and tries to unravel a dangerous real life mystery that envelops him after agreeing to an unusual birthday present from his brother (Sean Penn). From the moment we hear about the game we're completely hooked on trying to figure out what it is. It's a film that knows it has us right in its grasp the entire time and it fully exploits this fact -- we will not stop watching until we have the answers.
The irony here is that this game is created for the person, in this case Douglas' character, and for the audience, this movie is tailored much the same way. That might seem clever, but unless the biggest "try to figure it out" puzzle is all you hope for in film -- no serious character development, resolved subplots, flawless logic -- then truth is "The Game" is a bit insulting.
Writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris show a serious lack of respect for their audience. Sure, some people who watch this movie will forgive their sins because excessive plot twists excite them more than anything in cinema, but many watchers will feel insulted. Without getting into spoiler detail, "The Game" is riddled with plot holes and begs of you to suspend your disbelief out of sheer desire to figure out what's going on. Brancato and Ferris expect us to neglect our interest in the film's characters and in meaningful storytelling for some fancy plot writing. They underestimate us. They only haphazardly answer all the questions raised in the film, thinking we'll be happy if we just learn the truth behind it all.
Few films will hold your attention and curiosity from start to finish like "The Game," but any hope that there's more in it for you than amusement would be best discarded before viewing. This is a thriller movie and everyone making it, even the excellent director David Fincher ("Se7en"), knows it.