Nicholas Van Orten is a rich, cold-hearted high investment banker. He lives a solitary life devoid of any real joy or friendship. His estranged brother Conrad, almost Nick’s exact opposite, comes to him on a special birth- when Nick turns the age their father did when he killed himself. His gift is a certificate to participate in a mysterious Game from an even more mysterious recreational company. Thinking nothing of it, he signs up, going through a long and annoying series of tests. Overnight Nick finds his world crumble before him as lies pile on top of lies and no one seems to be out of bounds to the Game, leading to the banker to the reaches of his very psyche…
Man, David Fincher is a powerhouse. The entire movie feels tight and claustrophobic and is both shot and filmed beautifully. Michael Douglas does damn good in the role of Van Orten and goes through a huge character arc by the end. To the screenwriters’s credit, I really was guessing what the hell was going on all the way to the very end and was fine with the WTF ending. My only real issue is the pacing of the movie drags at places and it’s a serious slow burn that while I think is worth it, may turn some off. In the end, I recommend this as a good psychological thriller worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Savior Gaming 