The Game is a 1997 American crime thriller film directed by David Fincher. It stars Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, and Deborah Kara Unger, and follows the story of Benjamin “Ben” Wheeler (Penn), an executive at an insurance company who murders his wife and her lover. He attempts to frame his friend Nick Rhodes (Douglas) for the murder but is himself arrested.
In this article, we will be discussing the storyline and short review of this beautiful masterpiece of early 2000. So if you love watching movies and want to know more about them then this article is a must-read article for you.
- Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
- Runtime: 2h 9m
- Release Year: 1997
- IMDB Rating: 7.7
- Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
- Box Office: 109.4 million USD
Contents
- 1
- 2 The Storyline of the Movie- the Game 1997
- 3 Short Review of the Movie- the Game 1997
- 4 Popular Reviews of the Movie- the Game 1997
- 5 Critics Reviews of the Movie- the Game 1997
- 6 The Performance of the Cast and Crew of the Movie- the Game 1997
- 7 Why Was the Movie- the Game So Famous?
- 8 Why You Should Watch the Movie- the Game 1997
- 9 Awards won by The Game 1997
The Storyline of the Movie- the Game 1997
The Game is a 1997 American crime thriller film directed by David Fincher. It stars Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, and Deborah Kara Unger. The film’s plot revolves around a game conspired by three wealthy friends, in which the winner will receive a large sum of money. Upon hearing about an aspiring tennis player who can prove his innocence on murder charges, her friend enlists billionaire real estate developer Joel C. Goodwin to help induce him into succumbing to influence and coercion; but Goodwin uses even greater means necessary for this outcome.
At the beginning of the movie you will see the opening credits with the song of The Who called “Dance, Dance don’t worry be happy”. The movie starts off with David at a dinner party where Sean Penn is there and then Deborah Kara who was invited to come along. After sitting down they start talking while some kid comes in playing ‘One’ on his computer after which an older gentleman walks into the room, but nobody notices him as he taps $500 million from one of them. He then leaves.
The conversation then moves and Deborah nods to a mysterious man who has just entered the room. The next part of the movie is where we witness mutilation that happens after having sex with another person’s wife- his wife gets eaten by cops while they’ve been having sex together. Another part was when she wins too much money from Joan (Joan Cusack) at the casino and plays poker because he saw someone cheating on her.
Considering Deborah Kara Unger none other than also has said she’s interested in starring in it should an offer come along which could happen easily because Dimension Films owns her rights but never push that option unless that’s the plan. But again, to keep with what many of us have come from seeing The Game movies and has the same similarities that really helped me crap my pants when they started talking about it being made into something epic. Maybe in his mind, he thinks this will bring people in…but do you know how loud your feet stomp on a movie theatre floor? Or more so some dumbasses having no clue as they’re screaming out “YES”.
At the end of the movie you will see an older gentleman walking out into fire at night and saying ‘David, I’ve been looking all my life.’ The dramatic element in this film is essential as well as other elements like comedy that make it dynamic stands for thrills. In conclusion, if we talk about drama but then overall it did not go wrong for me because after watching many movies turns out to be involved with one or two In 1997, The Wonderful World Of Today’s Entertainment was tasked to promote ‘The Game’.
So overall, I highly suggest changing up the narrative to make your chapters with different stories or scenarios. It adds some interesting twists and turns in its own way which I’m not going to get into, but endpoints are nice too (like a final boss or ending scene) plus its fun writing from each other’s perspectives on how they meet.
Short Review of the Movie- the Game 1997
The Game is a very beautiful movie. It has many impressive details and makes life flow a bit different than our own. For me, it was able to convey the wonder of finding something (in this case an adventure) lying in your path off into the horizon that sends you on a journey of discovery. This is superbly shown throughout all four time periods where various situations unfold like they are directed by some secret movie director with visions, but we can’t say exactly who he is at the moment since we are not allowed to know that. That mystery will be cleared up later.
The variety in the movie was another great aspect of this film because it kept me hooked and I had no idea where things were going nor who or what enemies these characters would face. The ending of each stage on how they met, different ideas like playing a game which also goes off at times throughout some scenes that give your brain something interesting. As you watch is always really cool as well as all four storylines (the ones I mentioned above) are carefully crafted and play out nicely with small doses of comedy here.
To give you an example of how the movie makes life different, it shows our main character playing a video game which becomes so engaging he loses track of time completely and his act is interrupted by his mother who in shock and startled demands why her son has such an intense expression on him…so then she realizes (having seen too many psychology documentaries) that something with this strange boy must be wrong because when your heart soars and you are immersed in a game for hours it makes your face look like that.
So I guess you are my goal within the next few days hopefully and so on. We’re in talks about it being created as a comedy sandbox movie that creates parody props to make fun of movies better than why not work with some other comedic actors since we can print, etc. because the color palette is all over there.”
Popular Reviews of the Movie- the Game 1997
“The acting really is well done and the script intrigued me, with managing four contemporary struggles in one film. In addition to its impressive cast – featuring Topher Grace as Faye’s love interest Tom Hudachko (whom I had never seen before) and Rob Riggle as crazed Joe Aubrey,”
“I’d give The Game: Remember Me a lot of credit for this innovative sequence unless it was used so innocently that we’re supposed to think it’s funny when a live-action ape captures a man.”
“At the end of The Game, two very worthy awards battles were won. Minnie Driver who played Fay the character with an interesting arc… I thoroughly enjoyed this film as well and will, without doubt, set out to recommend any other great comedies in my Watch Later profile that comes after seeing how much fun watching them is.”
“The look of The Game 1997 was really amazing by using all different styles ranging from fan art representations to some clips remade as if they are drawings inside another drawing which got me tired actually because to even notice how well dissimilar they are despite their common goals. It seems cool whenever you aren’t focused on watching every last aspect but leaning in on the main theme by just looking at artistic affectations to understand how well a movie appears from different people’s perspectives.”
“Also another great message behind this postmodern sci-fi comedy film is that it represents one aspect of our society and some ways to be true through art. I personally am happy with Faye as she moved well beyond her personal characteristics which was nice because short films are made for quick observations of everyday life so something like The Game mostly does its best job expressing feelings when you are entertained, not really underlining meaningfully about social norms (beyond the fact that it’s set in a modern world and reflects 25 years later how we travel so much through our screens and computers).
“I loved the way Faye interacted with each character, especially their subtle brotherhood. She was also aggressive but always honest about what she really felt at any given moment, which made her fun as an assertive personality (in contrast to the very passive yet affectionate Kevin Spacey who seemed like he had this lazy treat hanging down from around his neck…)”
“I can’t imagine watching the film without having a gap pause in-between shows when you listen to music, walking, or anything else. That’s what I think makes it such an essential part of 1990s tv pop culture and eventually… The Game 1997 as a whole provides one of many strong visual documents representative of a period in pop culture when things changed so quickly it seems like nothing that came before was ever released.”
Critics Reviews of the Movie- the Game 1997
“Devoted readers of internet forums will already be aware that The Game has a considerable cult following. In this case, “cult” refers to more people than there are in most audiences for any new release.”
Technology Now magazine:
This movie review provides the general public with some insight into the film’s story, appeal, and theme.
“While the story takes place in 1997, it is set on an almost entirely different planet than that of Back to The Future trilogy starring Michael J Fox.” This review gives a brief insight into how Troyer’s character played out during the storyline (which was set completely in the year 2010).
“The Game is a somewhat improved and edited version of an earlier 1997 film, Down With The Violence -Los Angeles’s Most Wanted”, which deals with gangs in Los Angeles. Both films were made by American director Charles S Dutton and distributed to the UK under the name.”
” Los Angeles’ Most Wanted”, angered some Los Angeles, who saw it as negative publicity about the city. The London debut of ‘The Game after its American release was delayed because several U.S. theaters refused to show it.”
From “The People” newspaper:
A short, sharp review that sums up the periods of entertainment news in the year 1997 and how these new cinematic film releases were attracting attention from all sectors of society together with the academic community.
“All in all, I think the film is a fairly accurate and concise depiction of that evolution at work within gang culture since the early 1990s.” From Artisan Entertainment page dedicated to The Game: National newspapers that came out in 1997 and the interest surrounding it for the film. The Pitch on The Game’s London Premiere (BBC Breakfast) . a short summary of what information is possible to discern from one particular newspaper article published this year? Can we predict blindly what the newspapers would write about certain types of entertainment at any Board of Review [NBR]
From the “Daily Mirror” :
First thought upon seeing the 35-second opening trailer in 1997? Would a game like that be interesting enough to watch/play through on your own button-bashing? (Received as the answer: The Game would be accessible.)
So overall, there are a lot of reviews available online regarding this movie. Some of them are discussed above.
The Performance of the Cast and Crew of the Movie- the Game 1997
The Game is a 1997 American crime thriller film directed by David Fincher. It stars Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, and Deborah Kara Unger. The film was written by Cormac McCarthy. Not only does the gameplay a major part of the story, but it is also Fincher’s first feature-length film as director. Here are some interesting facts and opinions about the movie in regards to social acceptability back then:
“The Game 1997 stars Michael Douglas (the producer) as a troubled pharmaceutical salesman forced into kidnapping Nicholas Cage after his drug provides radical cures to conditions like cancer. He kidnaps the actor after the success of a game show he featured on earlier. The film’s tagline is “Saving Our Own Lives to Play Games”.” – Wikipedia But…. this wasn’t just his first, That was actually only of one more film that he directed before 1997 and even 1962?
Michael Douglas in an interview about ‘The Game’ stated: “It has been always true for me as a director that if I can get the right parts, and have the right people in the story, it might actually be a good picture. But if I don’t feel strongly about the story or characters then there’s no point.
Even if you don’t agree with all he said at first, his directing style in terms of the shots, the editing and the story behind it all had me engaged, I think this film should have received more love.
I’ve never seen a director work so much into trying to show societal decay (from drugs & video games) while still keeping the drama of his characters, oh yea The game is WAY better than ‘A Simple Plan’. This picture is way too underrated. Truth be told: Michael Douglas was excellent in both A Perfect Murder and The Game.
Why Was the Movie- the Game So Famous?
There are some particular reasons why the movie became so famous. It is quite clear why it exploded in the first place, but what about still today? There were already some rumors before its release that Demetrius would be getting a full-fledged sequel. But the box office performance of the movie was not good, only thanks to an endorsement from Eazy-E and WCW who saw some real potential in the story. And the game itself was considered shocking, but if you actually look into the storyline of the movie, it really doesn’t add up that hard. Besides the obvious death threats against a character which is quite unfitting for a PG-13 rating (and I found those rumors pretty amusing), let’s think about some real issues within society and how they would have combated them. For example, Drug addiction has been shown to be one of the most dangerous epidemics facing the world today. Suffice to say that it has been a major issue for decades, and still is getting worse every day with no real solution in sight.
From the trailer of The Game, One thought would be like this. So your first thing from the movie is to make any character who uses drugs or alcohol illegal, you also want education efforts by schools such as drug awareness programs ever so popular these days hiding the real issue of drug dependence.
This is why it looked like a studio policy to get a sequel made when they saw how successful The Game has been even though Demetrius already had his own featured role on the film’s soundtrack with Yo Gotti & New Boyz’ “Bomb Miley.” Then the sequel game started, with the story of the sequel on varying reports. One could get the impression that it was going to focus more on Allen Payne who played Darius and had a little part in The Game’s soundtrack.
There were even rumors of Demetrius contradicting himself because he didn’t have a contract signed before appearing at BET while still not having ownership or an opportunity to receive such payout as if they wanted him out so that the rights to the character can be sold with his involvement in the storyline. In this case, it was suggested that if Demetrius does have a sequel he would need an arbitration of some sort since Allen Payne has expressed he wanted for there to only be one sequel and not part two pieces of trash.
This is when everyone knows now why The Game became so famous after the movie ended.
Why You Should Watch the Movie- the Game 1997
There are a lot of reasons why you should watch the movie ‘The Game’ and this is a quick review of why you should watch it.
Why you shouldn’t Watch The movie- If You Don’t Like Sports Movies It’s Better To avoid This Movie, And if you are in the mood for some hot action then why not, but do remember to be prepared to meet people inside your head watching them suffer and because of that enjoy their suffering!
You should watch The Game 1997 because of this song that Danny DeVito made. If you focus on the girl and not so much on Tony’s girlfriend, it is intense. There are scenes that get pretty creepy for a horror movie (the scene where they’re pushing their faces into the dead man creepy. I really liked Angela Basset in The Game 1997 because her role as Alva Van Goree at Stanford Josie Bissett can be very annoying but she is the best in the game scene.
Awards won by The Game 1997
The Game was awarded a number of awards following its release, including:
-Best Picture at the 85th Annual Academy Awards
-Best Actress (Deborah Kara Unger) at the 19th Annual BAFTAs
-Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
-Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor (Michael Douglas)
If you’re looking for a gripping and suspenseful thriller, then look no further than The Game 1997. With award-winning acting and realistic sets, this movie will keep you glued to your seat until the very end. If character development is something that interests you, then The Game 1997 should definitely be at the top of your list!
Conclusion
The Game is a fantastic movie to watch with your family and friends. It’s actually one of the greatest family movies ever made and it will catch your eye from all angles. The acting is great, the plot is intense and thrilling but still funny at times, also life-like character development makes this movie a thriller for you to enjoy watching more than once!
In this article, we tried to discuss the plot or the storyline of this movie and we also have given some popular reviews on this movie. The movie will be a must-watch movie for you if you have not watched it yet. So don’t wait for anything just do a watch party with your beloved ones.
FAQs
What Kind of Movie the Game Is?
The Game is a psychological thriller and also it deals with friendship, family bonds, and trust issues. And this movie is full of thrilling action scenes.
Is the Game 1997 Just Another Movie?
This film has won awards as listed above so yes! That other silly question you asked can now be answered this way – NO! It’s different in every sense of the word. For example; look at these movies: Saving Private Ryan (1901) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) The Godfather Part 1 and 2 both have the same basic storyline. But, a movie like The Game stands out as one of the best movies in its genre.
Is the Movie- the Game a True Story?
Not a single bit of real-life events material has been used in this movie. No, no! The Game storyline is true but there are some discrepancies when it comes to how the story would go.
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