Summary
Set in a near-future dominated by immersive gaming culture and corporate influence, a group of elite players find themselves pulled into a high-stakes competition where the boundaries between virtual combat and real-world consequences begin to collapse. As alliances fracture and secrets surface, survival depends on more than skill—it requires trust in a system designed to betray them.

Director
Gore Verbinski

Writer
Gore Verbinski

Cast

  • Sam Rockwell
  • Michael Pena
  • Zazie Beats
  • Haley Lu Richardson
  • Juno Temple

Rotten Tomatoes: 86%

Metacritic: 64

  • Ech@lemmy.caEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    Watched this recently and was quite surprised at how great I ended up finding it. I had avoided all trailers or any other press, so it was a completely fresh experience, which I think is the best way to watch this movie. The biting social commentary alongside the absurdist world was fascinating and great. It’s simultaneously loud, in-your-face satire that also has a deeper, unacknowledged layer of subtlety to the plot that’s just really impressive. At the risk of sounding “elitist”, I feel a lot of viewers who are trashing the movie didn’t fully get it, though I also don’t think they would like it if they actually understood it properly.

    Funnily enough, I had actually forgotten that Gore Verbinski was the director and was thinking the whole time it was The Daniels or like, Boots Riley or something. This movie is entirely unexpected from a director like Gore, but he really nailed it, imo. The writer (Matthew Robinson, not Gore, btw) seems fairly new, but I’m definitely keeping an eye on him from now on. Really good stuff.

    One aspect of the film I don’t think is getting enough appreciation is the score. It somehow perfectly compliments the absurdism at the core of every scene while also managing to keep up the relentless intensity pushing it forward, equal parts Tom Waits and Hans Zimmer.

    So yeah, if it wasn’t abundantly clear, I’m a big fan of this movie. It’s definitely not for everyone, or maybe even most people, but if you are one who likes any combination of Black Mirror, Edgar Wright movies, or films like Sorry to Bother You, you should check this out. It’s a gem of a kind of movie that I feel we don’t see much of these days.

  • Q@piefed.socialEnglish
    1·
    2 days ago

    I thought it was really engaging even for a longer movie.

    I honestly thought though that the whole school shooting part didn’t have much that couldn’t have been cut. There’s 100 reasons why clones would be a thing other than school shootings. It was too on the nose and cutting would drop 20-25 minutes from the movie and not lose anything from the main point or story.

    If I sold someone this as a comedy, I don’t think I’d be doing a good job. It’s funny but has some serious topics it dives pretty heavily into and some people will be caught off guard like I was.