The Game (1997)

On paper the story (and plotting) of The Game seem interesting, but at two+ hours it's a case of too much for too long - it needed some major tightening up. And for about 80% of the running time Michael Douglas didn't hold my attention. He stars as an investment banker (read: wanker) who signs up to participate in a life-changing 'game' that he knows almost nothing about, and in order to keep the mystery of that situation I feel obliged to say nothing more about it. It's a decision that seems out of character for him, to begin with, and while things remedy somewhat as they go on the random/not random happenings and his response to them left me bored and sleepy. The film gambles on the notion that a twisty pay-off will make up for a protracted middle; its popularity suggests that for many folks it does, but it didn't for me.

2½ deeper understandings out of 5