Game On Gamer

Okay.  Honesty time. I am not a gamer.  Big surprise there, I know; but I have actually played a first shooter once.  And I've seen it played multiple times.    Seriously, Smash Brothers is about as violent as I get.  Anyhow,It made me sick to my stomach "pulling the trigger" and watching the blood splatter.  I literally started to cry because I was killing another, albeit virtual, person.  So, my understanding and view of this movie might be a tad skewed.  And for that, I apologize.  Truly.  


So here goes nothing.

It's always good to start with beginning, so that's where we'll start.  I like that the opening looks like a music video for Marilyn Manson's  "Sweet Dreams Are Made of These" at an excessively slow speed.  If you didn't know you were watching a movie, you would think you had turned on MTV or VH1, something like that.


Also, I love the style that this movie is done in.  The "gaming" portions look so real that I can't tell if it is footage from an actual first person shooter or if it is camera footage edited so well that it looks like a game.  It makes me sick.  I could feel my stomach churning and the spaghetti bouillabaisse and garlic toast bubbling up my throat.  I will never be able to watch or play a shooter game again.  That's how well done it was.  I was incredibly impressed.

 I love the use of camera angles and lights also.  At the beginning, the game was all in blacks, grays, and neutral colors.  The "real" world, however, was bright colors and a lot of white.  It really visually showed the difference between the two worlds.  Plus, for the most of the beginning of the movie, you couldn't see Gerard Butler's face, unless he was remembering something.  Only pieces of it.  It was distorted.  In my literature classes, I learned that the inside matches the outside: therefore, Kable (Butler) is a distorted/demented person.  Finally, it was epic when Simon and Kable were working together.

I think the best part of it is the ethical questions it raises.  Is it really just a game?  I'm not saying that the movie is true and that criminals on death row are in the game.  That's ridiculous and fictitious.  But even if they aren't, does that justify the killing of another person? Even if that person is virtual?  I don't think so.  It's not okay to kill people.  I understand that in times of war sacrifices must be made and blah blah blah blah.  That's an argument I'm not willing to get into.  I just don't feel that killing is right, even in video games, especially realistic ones.  Also, what makes a person on death row any better than a person who has a clear record?  Nothing.  We're all human and we're all deserving of Hell.  End of story.


I think the movie also serves as a social criticism on how much we rely on gaming.  Virtual experiences like WoW, Sims, etc.  (I know there are more than that, but I don't know their names)  I saw a documentary a while back that talked about these helmets you could put on and it read your brain waves.  (See Paprika) The character in the game does exactly what you're brain tells it to do.  That's so creepy.  I know reality sucks most of the time; trust me, I have the scars to prove it, but that is not an excuse to run away forever.


 


On another note...wow Milo.  From Peter Petrelli to this.... Let's just say that that wasn't a wise career move.  I get that you're tired of being the good guy, but W-O-W.