Surviving the Game

Had the original casting idea been kept (hunting Rutger, not Ice-T), this movie might have worked. Sadly, racism had to come into the picture (literally) and mess it up. The predominantly black production staff couldn't allow the antagonist be black, so they swapped Rutger's and Ice-T's roles. This was only the start of the downward spiral of this film. Ernest Dickerson's news-room approach to 'directing' only verified that this was another affirmative-action job assignment. Master shot, close up, close up. Gads, 'Who's Line Is It Anyway' even uses more creative camera work. Eric's rewrite of 'The Most Dangerous Game' is at least an attempt at modernizing the classic tale, but fails to give us any motivations for why the characters are doing this. We are never given the reasons, other than "no one will miss these people", why the leader (re-written as Rutger) does these things. Aside from a heart-felt performance by John McGinley, and a fair job by Charles Dutton, do not bother with this one. One small bit of trivia, there was a real drunk-driving accident during filming that injured F.Murray Abraham, and resulted in the death of the intoxicated young driver that caused the accident.

What we have here is a film that works from one of the most overused premises around - namely, the one pioneered by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack in the classic thriller "The Most Dangerous Game". Since then, it's been used in a number of films, including the likes of John Woo's Hard Target, and Jess Franco's Tender Flesh. I am, of course, talking about the idea of a group of hunters capturing, releasing and then killing the most dangerous prey known to man - man. This film focuses on Jack Mason; a down and out drifter who decides to kill himself after finding his dog and only friend dead one morning. However, he's saved and ends up travelling to an island where he thinks he's going to be helping some hunters, but actually he's what they're planning to hunt. There really isn't much I can say about this film as it's all purely routine, and if you've ever seen anything like this before; you're bound to know what's going to happen. The film stars Ice-T, who actually delivers a likable performance in the lead role despite a very silly looking hairstyle. The rest of the case is fleshed out by cult actors such as Rutger Hauer and Gary Busey, although nobody really stands out amid the tedium. As a basic thriller, the film is entertaining enough - although I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone well versed in this sort of film as they're bound to have seen it all before.

This movie was horrible. I swear they didn't even write a script they just kinda winged it through out the whole movie. Ice-T was annoying as hell. *SPOILERS Phht more like reasons not to watch it* They sit down and eat breakfast for 20 minutes. he coulda been long gone. The ground was hard it would of been close to impossible to to track him with out dogs. And when ICE-T is on that Hill and uses that Spaz-15 Assault SHOTGUN like its a sniper rifle (and then cuts down a tree with eight shells?? It would take 1000's of shells to cut down a tree that size.) Shotguns and hand guns are considered to be inaccurate at 100yards. And they even saw the reflection. What reflected the light?? I didn't see a scope on that thing. Also when he got shot in the gut and kept going, that was retarded he would of bled to death right there. PlusThe ending where he stuffs a rock or a cigarette in the guys barrel. It wouldn't blow up and kill him. The bullet would still fire kill Ice T but mess up the barrel.

I rated this G-awful turkey a 1 just to try to get its rating down to about where it belongs - a 2 or 3 at best! Unbelievable that such high caliber actors would take part in such a cinematic mess - they must have been paid well or desperate for something to do. Normally only a bunch of unknowns would act in such a turkey. The events and actions portrayed are absolute nonsense and totally unrealistic - did anyone with half a brain read the script before shooting began? Could have been much better with a better script. SPOILER: One of the biggest nonsense parts (towards the end) was how the heck did Mason (Ice_T) get back to civilization when he was stranded in the middle of nowhere AND IN ONLY 3 DAYS! Just one of the MANY ridiculous story elements. Don't waste your time with this.

Mason (Ice-T) is a homeless man searching for Redemption after the lost of his family, his only friend and his dog. But Mason is recruited by a band of wealthy hunters (Rutger Hauer, Charles S. Dutton, John C. McGinley, William McNarama, Gary Busey and Oscar-Winner:F.Murray Abraham) as a guide for the Pacific Northwest. But Mason finds himself to be the target by these perverse mens. Which this hunters are obsessed with this cruel sport. Directed by Ernest Dickerson (Bones, Bulletproof, Tales from the Crypt Presents:Demon Knight) made an action-packed thriller. This has good performances by the cast with some memorable sequences. This slightly underrated film was an box office disappointment and it was similar theme with John Woo's "Hard Target". Which it was release a year before. DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer (also in Pan & Scan) and an fine-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD also includes the Original Theatrical Trailer and Cast & Crew information. This is a must for action-fans. They will find plenty to enjoy in this thriller. Written by Eric Bernt (The Hitcher "2007", Romeo Must Die, Virtuosity). (****/*****).

Gruesome and brutal. Action saga of a homeless man(Ice-T) being tricked by a group of Seattle businessmen into being a human target in their game of surviving the wilderness. Clever finale. Cast includes:Rutger Hauer, Charles Dutton, Gary Busey, F. Murray Abraham and John C. McGinley.

The brilliant short story "The Most Dangerous Game" has inspired and spawned so many movies that there ought to be an official sub-genre for it - maybe something like "MDG movies" or "MO-DA". There must be dozens out there: the original "The Most Dangerous Game", "The Hunted", "Mean Guns", "Bloodlust", etc. "Among the most energetic and involving in the genre are John Woo's update, "Hard Target", and this movie, "Surviving The Game", which also capitalizes on the idea of "hunting homeless people for sport". STG was my first introduction to Ice T as an actor, and I have to admit that I was impressed. He plays his role with a nice mixture of toughness, sadness, misery, and humor, and he does it with hardly a false or unconvincing note in the entire movie. Some of the credit may go to the screenplay, because he was pretty stiff in "Mean Guns", but he holds center stage here like a natural. The rest of the cast is also quite strong, with Rutger Hauer and Charles Dutton especially giving convincing, memorable performances. The characters they play are human monsters, but they enjoy themselves so much, take such glee in their roles as "mighty hunters", that the repulsiveness and ugliness of what they are doing almost takes a back seat to the "strategy and tactics" war games they play with their prey. Almost. But it takes a special talent to invest these yuppie scum with energy and charisma to keep them interesting, and the director and actors all deserve kudos for what they pull off here. Here's the strength of the screenplay - You come to understand that Ice T's character is actually quite shrewd and resourceful and is a born survivor, but he also out of his element and heavily outnumbered; while the hunting party is complacent and smug, but they are completely ruthless, vastly more experienced at this game. AND they have all the guns. Ice T is no martial arts superman, (like JCVD in "Hard Target"), and his opponents are not professional killers, so the odds are far more even, but the stakes are just as high. It's a very nice balancing of tension vs. hope, and determination and wits against numbers and skill. Of course, if the movie looked bad, or sounded crappy, much of the impact would be lost. I'm a big fan of Copeland's soundtracks, and he comes through here with his usual ringing, chiming, supple and plangent atmospheric backgrounds that are worth listening to for their own sake. And the cinematography in the woods of Oregon is heartbreakingly beautiful - even as the tension and danger mount, the eye is captured by the light and the scenery and the colors. There are a couple weak spots in the movie, of course. John McGinty's character is completely stupid (although he plays him well), and the scene in the cave where T and McGinty reveal their back-stories to each other is completely uninspired and by-the-numbers. The shifting of momentum between the hunter and the hunted doesn't quite work - you have to kind of suspend disbelief at a couple of points near the end where Murray Abraham's character starts to "lose it". And I have a hard time believing that Hauer's character, once he returns to the city, doesn't simply go to ground and lay a clever ambush for T instead of packing everything to flee the city and start over elsewhere. (Of course, it could be argued that he tried setting a trap in the final scene set in the woods, and it didn't work then.) But as action-adventure movies go, and as 'MGD' movies go, this is a keeper that holds up to repeating viewings. I bought it used on DVD several years ago after my initial rental, and I have watched it and enjoyed it at least half-a-dozen times since then.

Well it looks like these guys had a lot of fun making this flick. The movie is unintentionally funny in many places, and the directing appears as haphazard as the plot. F Murray Abraham is perpetually dumb. Gary Busey is perpetually angry. If you like guns, explosions, and seeing bad guys getting wasted, this movie is for you.

Beverage guy Ice T plays a down and out "bum" that is given a job to help a group of guys at a hunting lodge...or so he thinks. In reality, he is to be the prey. Surviving the Game is a reworking of the timeless classic story by Richard Connell "The Most Dangerous Game." Ice T ends up running from this group of selfish, arrogant, and sadistic killers that feel no remorse or shame for killing this man because he is a homeless vagrant. He matches wits with his opponents and then some. This film can best be described as entertainment. It isn't full of great acting..the acting is acceptable with a few good performances out of Rutger Hauer(Man this guy can be scary) and Charles Dutton. The rest are merely adequate...a means to develop the plot and move things along. The story is pretty good but has some flaws, but the film is full of action and suspense.

It's possible that this movie suffers by comparison to "Hard Target," which was undoubtedly better, thanks mostly to John Woo's direction and the stylish villainy of Lance Hendriksen and Arnold Vosloo. But "Surviving the Game" is out-and-out garbage. The premise was already stale, the writing is god-awful, and the characters aren't even on the level of a comic book. The depiction of homeless life in a big city is, at best, charmingly inaccurate. The climactic showdown is one of the most mind-numbingly stupid scenes I've ever encountered (and I've seen everything that Edward D. Wood Jr and Steven Seagal have done). The only possible reason to see this is to watch a good cast waste its time. Ice-T, taken out of his usual big-pimping-gangster routine, is surprisingly good; he's believable in the action scenes (although I can't figure out how a malnourished homeless man could have so much energy), and he creates a good deal of sympathy too. Unfortunately, the screenplay gives him the lion's share of clunky dialogue. In particular, his conversation in the cave with John McGinley is so poorly-written that no actor could possibly survive it. Hey, wouldn't that make a nifty DVD extra, to have, say, Ralph Fiennes, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, and Denzel Washington each give their reading of Ice-T's monologue about how his family died in the fire? Rutger Hauer is entertaining and intelligent as always, and Charles Dutton is his usual rock-solid self. They really do come off as a couple of guys who have known each other for a long time, and the numerous unexplained inside jokes between them are a nice touch. But both actors have been much more impressive in better movies than this. F. Murray Abraham is horribly miscast, and his character is a mess of contradictions. Abraham has been magnificent before (see "Amadeus" and "Mighty Aphrodite"). But here, he's saddled with the burden of playing the dumbest character in the movie, and, much like James Woods, Abraham is incapable of playing stupid. You can sense Abraham's discomfort with the character throughout, especially in his scenes with William McNamara, who plays his son and seems equally confused about what he's doing here. John C. McGinley, who foundered for years in crap like this, "On Deadly Ground," and "Highlander II," gives yet another signature performance that's way too good for a movie of this caliber. Fortunately, he finally found a role on "Scrubs" that's worthy of his best efforts. Hopefully his days of playing minor bad guys in lame action movies are over once and for all. Which brings us to the only real reason to see this movie, the great Gary Busey. Busey by this point had made a second career playing over-the-top villains (see "Lethal Weapon" through "Under Siege"). Here he outdoes himself. As he was probably the highest-paid actor appearing in this movie, he doesn't last very long. But he makes an impression that overshadows everything else. His long monologue (about the dog he had when he was a kid) is up there with any weirdo soliloquy that Christopher Walken's done in the last ten years, and he chews on it like he's enjoying every bite (no pun intended). Shortly after that, he has a well-choreographed fight with Ice-T. But again, could a malnourished homeless guy really hold his own against a CIA-trained total psycho who's much bigger than he is? Well, whatever. Bravo, Mr. Busey, I tip my hat to you. In short, you can stop watching it after Busey gets his. Aside from watching some good actors struggle through a lousy script, there's nothing more to see here, folks, keep moving.