Does anyone have a complicated relationship with David Fincher?
Let me explain…
Everywhere you look, people rave about Fincher like he’s the second coming. I personally think he is very talented and extremely creative, but there are certain movies of his that other people love and I just never had the same response to them.
Here, have a brief review of some of his other movies with my opinions attached:
- The Social Network – overrated, over-hyped, don’t understand the love it gets. Does nothing for me other than demonise Mark Zuckerberg (which I’m not mad about, because he is an arsehole).
- Gone Girl – good, well made, but nothing groundbreaking.
- Zodiac – waited ages to watch it, was sorely disappointed. The Zodiac Killer is super interesting, but I already knew everything about him that was covered in this film.
- Seven – decent enough, but again, not as outstanding as I’d been led to believe.
- Fight Club – hate to say it because it’s so obvious, but I love it. Perhaps my favourite Fincher movie as a whole.
- Panic Room – decent film, brilliant cast, not one of my favourite movies, but good.
As you’ll notice, I have a varied view towards many of his movies. (Note that I have only included the movies I’ve seen for obvious reasons).
One thing that connects my opinions on these films is the degree in which each movie is hyped by the film community. For instance, I went into Panic Room and Fight Club knowing pretty much nothing about either of them (I watched both of these films when I was younger and therefore had not heard so much about them) and they turned out to be the two movies I enjoyed the most.
When it came to The Game, I’d not really heard anyone talk about it. And guess what! The correlation between my opinions continued as expected. In short, I really enjoyed this movie.
The story follows a rich, uptight banker, who is given the gift of a real life ‘game’ by his good-for-nothing, junkie brother, played by Sean Penn. Once the game begins, the lines between what’s real life and what is part of said game become blurred, and leading man Nicholas (Michael Douglas) hatches a conspiracy theory that someone is messing with him for real.
As you’d expect, it’s as dark and atmospheric as any David Fincher movie. And that’s a good thing. Possibly the one thing I have enjoyed about every film of his that I’ve seen is his capability to create these sinister tones. Actually, what kind of Fincher movie would be complete without an ominous score? That’s also a prevalent positive within this film too.
Unlike many film buffs, I think this is as good as Seven, if not better. I said what I said. I was consistently mesmerised throughout the whole thing, whereas during the former, I got too bored too quickly between action sequences. There’s always something going on in The Game, and you simply don’t get a chance to be bored.
Michael Douglas is perfect in this role. He plays rich asshole investment banker with a heart so convincingly that I’m not sure there’s an actor who could have been better. The rest of the ensemble are also great, playing the pawns of the game with gusto.
I guess this was just my cup of tea. Anything thriller-y with a mystery twist is absolutely my jam, and this ticked those boxes for me. Perhaps where I went wrong with Seven is that I already knew what the twist was – again, another downside to Fincher’s films being too over-hyped.
I do believe it could have been more pacy at times – certain elements of the plot could be tightened up. However, as I’ve already stipulated, it does trudge through the script at a much more interesting pace than other movies in Fincher’s resume.
Overall, this is a movie I’d undoubtedly recommend. If you loved Fincher’s other cinematic entries, you’ll love this one too. And perhaps – if you’re like me – you’ll love it even if you didn’t love the entirety of his back catalogue.
The Game is available to rent on Amazon and the Google Play Store for £2.49.
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