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Gamer

Play trailer 2:24 Poster for Gamer R 2009 1h 35m Action Mystery & Thriller Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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29% Tomatometer 80 Reviews 39% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Each week Kable (Gerard Butler), a death-row inmate, battles his fellow prisoners in a violent online game called "Slayers," his every move controlled by a young gamer's remote device. To the players, Kable and the other inmates are just simulated characters. But, to a resistance group that opposes the game's inventor, Kable is a critical component of their plan to end the inventor's form of high-tech slavery.
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Gamer

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Critics Consensus

With all of the hyperkinetic action and none of the flair of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor's earlier work, Gamer has little replay value.

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Critics Reviews

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Keith Uhlich Time Out Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor direct with their usual flashy brio. Rated: 3/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Kim Newman Empire Magazine An injection of adrenaline straight to the eye - which isn't entirely a bad thing. Rated: 3/5 Sep 18, 2009 Full Review Sukhdev Sandhu Daily Telegraph (UK) Can I get back the ninety minutes of my life that I squandered sitting through this miasmic upchuck of techno sludge? What was the story again? Rated: 0/5 Sep 18, 2009 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review A hostile movie that pretends to contain some semblance of criticism toward escalating video game brutality and social detachment. But its commentary is presented underneath an orgy of Hollywood movie violence and gratuitous boob close-ups. Rated: 1.5/4 Sep 4, 2023 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com A throwaway film. Rated: 1.0/4.0 Sep 8, 2020 Full Review Patrick Dahl Screen Slate Gamer doesn't import gaming aesthetics to the movies so much as it considers the gaming medium with every weapon in the cinematic arsenal. Mar 5, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Oaklee D If you're looking for a film to turn your brain off too for an hour and a half than this overtop action film is for you Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/30/25 Full Review Brad S Just a terrible movie, ending sucked and c hall shpuld have won but the directors are on meth and cant make a average movie Rated 1 out of 5 stars 09/29/25 Full Review Martin K Durchaus sehenswerter Film! Bei der heutigen bekloppten Gaming-Gesellschaft würde ich diesem Film sogar etwas Tiefgang zuschreiben. Mich zumindest hat er zum Nachdenken gebracht. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/02/25 Full Review Deric C Great movie with great acting. Gerard Butler is the man in this movie! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/20/25 Full Review char s Fun, fast, visceral and uncomplicated shoot me up film, decent soundtrack. bit of a social commentary on immersive gaming and society- released 16 yrs ago, you can see how it could be a possible reality. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/28/25 Full Review John C Okay, I know that this is really a `Gerard Butler' film, but you can't talk about Gamer without mentioning TV's most charming serial killer, Dexter (played by Michael C Hall). Here, we see a side of him which wouldn't be seen dead in Miami Metro PD. He talks with a southern US accent, sings and dances while he brainwashes hordes of badguys to do his bidding - he really lets his `dark passenger' run wild! But anyway, enough of the baddie. We're really here to watch Gerard Butler as a convict who's forced to allow himself to be controlled by a computer game playing kid in a violent game of death. And it is violent. The shoot outs are pretty well done and there's plenty of action and sexual depravity to keep the (mainstream) masses amused. Don't expect too much in the way of a story or character development, but were you really thinking there would be in a Gerard Butler film (bless him)? It's style over substance. Which is a bad thing if you're looking for a deep and meaningful film. However, I was expecting rampant bloodshed and plenty of fighting and I got just that (plus Dexter behaving like he was on drugs). What more could I wish for? Well, apart from a coherent plot, but, hey, you can't have everything in life! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/25/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Mark Neveldine

Director

Brian Taylor

Director

Gerard Butler

Kable

Michael C. Hall

Ken Castle

Amber Valletta

Angie

Logan Lerman

Simon

Movie Clips

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Gamer

Gamer: Official Clip - Trying to Stay Alive Gamer: Official Clip - Trying to Stay Alive 2:08 Gamer: Official Clip - Grand Theft Auto Gamer: Official Clip - Grand Theft Auto 2:07 Gamer: Official Clip - You're My Psycho Gamer: Official Clip - You're My Psycho 2:43 Gamer: Official Clip - Mental Strength Gamer: Official Clip - Mental Strength 2:11 Gamer: Official Clip - We're All Slaves Gamer: Official Clip - We're All Slaves 1:40 Gamer: Official Clip - Controlled Execution Gamer: Official Clip - Controlled Execution 2:28 Gamer: Official Clip - I Will Control Everything Gamer: Official Clip - I Will Control Everything 2:16 Gamer: Official Clip - Upgrades Gamer: Official Clip - Upgrades 1:24 Gamer: Official Clip - Save Point Gamer: Official Clip - Save Point 2:26 Gamer: Official Clip - I'm Getting You Out Gamer: Official Clip - I'm Getting You Out 1:53 View more videos

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Gamer

(L-R) Gerard Butler as Kable and Terry Crews as Hackman in "Gamer." Michael C. Hall as Ken Castle in "Gamer." (L-R) Kyra Sedgwick as Gina Parker Smith, Aaron Yoo as Humanz Dude, Alison Lohman as Trace and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Humanz Brother in "Gamer." (L-R) Amber Valletta as Angie and Gerard Butler as Kable in "Gamer." (L-R) Gerard Butler as Kable and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Humanz Brother in "Gamer." Gerard Butler as Kable in "Gamer." Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Humanz Brother in "Gamer." (Second from right) Gerard Butler as Kable in "Gamer." A scene from the film "Gamer." A scene from the film "Gamer." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Each week Kable (Gerard Butler), a death-row inmate, battles his fellow prisoners in a violent online game called "Slayers," his every move controlled by a young gamer's remote device. To the players, Kable and the other inmates are just simulated characters. But, to a resistance group that opposes the game's inventor, Kable is a critical component of their plan to end the inventor's form of high-tech slavery.
Director
Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Producer
Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Skip Williamson, Richard S. Wright
Screenwriter
Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
Production Co
Lionsgate Films, Lakeshore Entertainment
Rating
R (Nudity|Language|Sexual Content|Strong Brutal Violence)
Genre
Action, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 4, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$20.5M
Runtime
1h 35m
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