Tech Blog

[#1]

Gamer
It's been a long road for Gerard Butler. From the dark halls under the Paris Opera House he was the Phantom of the Opera, moving on to the Battle of Thermopylae in 300. In Gamer Butler plays a character dubbed "Kable" in the fictional murder-reality show SLAYERS where convicted death row inmates (referred to as iCons.... zing!) fight for the right to be set free. The premise is that 30 match wins will set you free; John Tillman (Kable's real name) is only four matches from freedom when we join the action. If the sounds suspiciously like Death Race 2000, it is. Don't let that phase you though, there's a touch more depth and buckets of style to boot. The action is positively frenetic (at times bordering on seizure-inducing) and it's a blast to watch. Butler can be a bit wooden at times, but it's a stylistic choice that works well for a man who is, essentially, an unwilling puppet.

Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Six Feet Under) channels Gary Oldman's Zorg from The Fifth Element as an over-the-top corporate tycoon responsible for the PlayStation Home-like Society environment, where people get paid to be "played" by others, or they can pay to play. It's a bit of a commentary on the extreme-gamer phenomenon you see in relation to Counter Strike or Second Life (and not a kind commentary at that) but it dabbles in the realm of parody. Back to Michael C. Hall though: in Gamer he's brilliant, possibly the best performance in the film. He's quirky, odd, evil, and off-the-wall. Twice in the film there are high action pieces that take place over top of incongruous music–a gentle piano piece at one point, and an incredible rendition of "I've got you under my skin" in the second. It's at this point where there's a dance number (yes, a dance number) with Michael C. Hall and a dozen mind-controlled felons. It's surreal, and awesome, and totally what films like Crank and Gamer are about. One small cameo to watch for is John DeLancie (Q from Star Trek) as a network exec; this may tie the worlds for Crank and Gamer together, which is a cool bit of cross-continuity.

The short question is: "is Gamer good?" to which I can answer honestly that yes, I enjoyed it a lot. To give you some context: the plot is skinny, the visuals are amazing, the sound is enveloping, and I didn't feel cheated by the ending. When you add in a stack of extras, this is a Blu-ray that pays for itself–and then some–in entertainment value.

Visuals
Gamer was shot with RED cameras in high definition digital. It's given the film an incredibly flexible feeling. Shots were captured with cameramen on skates, and from angles that insert you directly into the action. Gamer has made the transition to Blu-ray with a remarkable level of detail intact, offering a better-than-the-cinema look and feel.

It has a variety of looks as the movie shifts from place to place; the distinct environments of "Society", "SLAYERS", and the real-life world of Gamer are instantly identifyable. Shifting from gritty, washed out battle scenes to hyper-saturated pseudo-environments to a world that is rotting around the edges is a fantastic way to establish locality, and it telegraphs extremely well on Blu-ray. I found the epileptic cuts to be challenging to watch at times, but the visuals really are delicious (if occasionally shallow) throughout.

The video isn't perfect; the style of Gamer may bother some out there. I, however, thought it really gave my 1080p display a workout. Dark scenes were crisp, contrasty scenes really showed off the range of my HDTV, and colours took full advantage of the extended colourspace. One of the coolest aspects of the Gamer is that it was released in 16:9; the directors made a stylistic choice to move from 2.40:1 to the HD 16:9 ratio to really open the scene up. It's a choice that absolutely works for this type of movie, and legitimizes the home screen ratio in a big way.

Audio
Just like Crank you'll find the audio of Gamer to be pervasive. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is nothing short of awe-inducing. You'll want to have a proper component audio system that can handle it, because every channel will get a workout. Even the ambient audio is steeped in the realism of this world; the digital sounds of "Society" and "SLAYERS" places you immediately. Dialog is crisp, action is clear, and oh, the explosions. So very, very tasty.

The two person composer team of Rob Williamson and Geoff Zanelli did a commendable job creating a varied, and yet believable sound track. The piano piece that plays in one of the first battle scenes is reminiscent of the Somewhere Over the Rainbow scene from Face / Off in its blend of the peaceful and the frenetic. It's one of my favourite moments in the film.

What I thoroughly enjoyed was the use of subtlety, sounds as minor as coins clinking in a cup come through with crystal clarity. Gamer does a great job with sound, and the movie is better because of it.


Extras
Inside the Game: Controlling Gamer (1 hour 19 minutes, AVD-HD, Dolby Digital 2 Channel)
Running nearly as long as the film itself, Inside the Game is an incredibly in-depth documentary looking into the creation of the film with the directors (the single-named pair Neveldine and Taylor) and the producers. Both of the directors have established a history of pulpy action flicks–the most notable of which being Crank–so seeing their first large budget film come to life is a fun endeavor.

The content ranges from deep to inane, but every minute is worth watching. The discussions with Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, and Chris Bridges (you might know him as Ludacris. He was great in Law & Order: SVU too) are fun, light, and interesting.

This documentary is really a complete cross section of Gamer. It's clear that both of the directors really enjoy their jobs and that they haven't been affected by the success of their previous films. The blend of talking heads, movie action, and behind-the-scenes footage is well balanced; the documentarians found a great way of keeping the talking heads interesting with some interesting angles. It's worth your hour and twenty: watch this documentary–and keep your eyes peeled for "possibly the most illegal weapon ever. Made in California!"

First Person Shooter: The Evolution of Red (16 minutes 45 seconds, AVC-HD, Dolby Digital 2 Channel)
RED Digital Cinimal is a big deal; it's a whole new way of shooting high definition digital. This documentary offers an insight to the reason the directors chose to shoot with RED, the struggles they had, a history of the development of the RED system, and how things worked out for the entire process. It's really freaking cool to watch these guys skate around on in-line skates with cameras that can be described as reasonably expensive (yes, the italics are necessary–they run $17k in comparison to $100k for comparable film cameras) to get shots that are disgustingly awesome.

This documentary plays like a bit of a love letter to the RED camera, but it's for good reason. I didn't feel like I was being sold to (I'm not taking out a second mortgage right now, thanks) but it was effective in infecting me with its enthusiasm. It's pretty cool to see this new concept used to produce a gorgeous looking film.

Unseen Trailer (The Doobie-ness Cut) (2 minutes 43 seconds, AVC-HD, Dolby Digital 2 Channel)
This alternate trailer was never released as it was deemed too graphic, but it's a great watch.

Enhanced movie modes
There are three enhanced movie modes:

• audio commentary with the directors, Amber Valletta, Alison Lohman, and Terry Crews
• iCon mode is an enhanced mode that takes you inside the film with in-movie video content on demand
• Cheat Codes offers a similar experience, with a take on the film by the technicians that worked on it, accessible by clicking the cheat code icon.

There's a lot of content in each of these modes, and while not every moment is gold, there's plenty here to make watching the film for a third or fourth time worth it. It's amazing how much this Blu-ray has to give–if you only just liked Gamer after one viewing, you'll love it after seeing the construction of the film from so many angles.

Conclusion
Gamer is a solid buy on Blu-ray. It's a great flick that doesn't take itself too seriously, is a lot of fun to watch and hear, and has a truckload of extras to round out the package. Valid through the rest of 2010 you'll find a second disc in the package that includes a digital copy of the film for use with PC or Mac.

Gamer won't be up for any academy awards, but it's definitely among my current favourites for action flicks. Gamer hit stores on Blu-ray and DVD on January 19, making it available now. Go check it out.