Bit of fun

Rating: 6/10 (28 June 2015)

If you're like me...
Go into this movie expecting a bit of fun and not too much more than that, hence my 6/10 rating. The movie starts well and creates a lot of intrigue to the possibilities of what "The Game" might be. Though the whole time I was wondering if it could live up to the hype - that would be what decides the fate of the movie, is it going to be an ever unravelling puzzle which never really gets solved?
The puzzle will be solved, though it's certainly nonsensical and to be taken light heartedly. Don't worry about trying to take this movie too seriously, as you'll be disappointed with whether certain things are all that realistic. You have to get beyond that and imagine that it's plausible.
If you like David Fincher, expect the usual suspense, mystery and thrill that surrounds his movies, but not to the same high class. That's down to the plot rather than any fault of Fincher's. I don't think the movie (written how it is) has as much potential as Se7en, Gone Girl, Fight Club, even though at the start you would maybe think he could be onto another real hit.
Michael Douglas is well cast as the middle aged wealthy hotshot banker who goes through life without much spontaneity and fun, so his brother (Sean Penn) decides to get him involved in "The Game" to spice things up. Penn isn't in the film too much, so not necessarily one to watch just because you're a Penn fan, though the parts where we do see him, he's very typically emotionally Penn. That's a good standard as usual, but nothing new or lengthy here.
What stops this movie being great? It's certainly not down to acting or direction, in my eyes just the over elaborate plot which could've done a couple of things differently, so that in the end it all made sense. It's the "that could never happen" factor which stops it being great. It was possible to keep the plot along the same lines, with the same outcomes, but with different details in between. They instead chose a route which was implausible. That was the downfall unfortunately.
Still, I didn't mind enough to dislike it. I was especially intrigued at the start, and you do want to see where they go with the story. You want to find out what "The Game" is.
It's not one that i'll be revisiting anytime soon, but i'm glad I gave it a go. Have fun.