Plot: What’s it about?
“The Game” is the third feature film by the director David Fincher. He first debuted into feature films with “Alien 3”, then followed it with the dark tale “Sevens” with Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey. With “The Game”, Fincher appears to improve with each film. While “The Game” is not as disturbing of a story as “Sevens”, both movies seem to contain dark tones that seem to be Fincher’s trademark. The main thing the two movies have in common, however, is that the viewer has no idea how the movie will end until the credits are rolling.
The title of “The Game” refers to a birthday present given to successful businessman Nicholas Van Orten (Michael Douglas) from his brother Conrad (Sean Penn). Before Conrad presents his brother with the gift, which is described as “a profound life experience”, Nicholas leads a very structured lifestyle. After Nicholas stops in at the company and is subjected to preliminary tests and evaluations, he is told his application has been rejected. From this point on, very strange things begin to happen to Nicholas that threaten to destroy not only his life, but the lives of those around him. But then again, perhaps it is all just part of the game. To say any more would run the risk of ruining it for the viewer. All this particular reviewer can suggest is to set aside a couple of hours to completely become engrossed in this movie and enjoy it. The acting is first rate and the story is superb.
In regards to the quality of the picture and sound, they were both good. While the picture is great, your sound system will not get worked too hard, but perhaps that is because this is a suspense thriller rather than an extreme action movie. Either way, this movie is worth adding to one’s collection specifically for those occasions when company arrives and states that they have never seen, or experienced, “The Game.”
Video: How does it look?
Very Good. Dark scenes (and there are several) were not too grainy and the colors were bright. Overall, a very clear picture.
Audio: How does it sound?
Good. Not too much of a workout for the subwoofer or rear speakers with this movie. The front speakers get most of the action in the audio area. Perhaps it has something to do with the movie formatted for THX Dolby, but I doubt it. There just are not many scenes requiring heavy surround sound. In general, however, it really does not detract from the quality of the movie.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Not a great amount of extras here, but better than nothing. You get cast bios of the major players in the movie as well as the director, along with the original theater trailer. Not much else other than that.
