Real Playing Game

The movie started promising that it would be something different. I was fed up with the Hollywood versions of the story (hunger games) and was interested in watching how a low budget production would show something interesting through acting.

Unfortunately, the acting was rather bad, the scenario was a copy of what we have seen. The actors simply couldn't do something more. They acted the way they could.

As if the above wasn't enough, the ending is a little bit blurred.

My proposal: it's better to see hunger games, which are more complete movies.

What is the matter with you people? This cerebral thinking person's gem of a metaphysical film has lofty themes and piquant dialog--quoting Sartre at one point and speculating on what Hitler knew at twenty years of age for heaven's sake. Shades of Bergman or Bunuel! The entire premise is deeply personal as well as universal--what does anyone really know at twenty of the inherent treachery of human interaction and aren't we all trapped in some prison or another--whether it be old age or the naivete of youth? This film makes good use of low budget sci fi sets, as well as carries on the European auteur tradition of tackling the grand themes of philosophy. The fragile balance between trust and suspicion, cooperation and competition, love and hate are so explicitly explored here, how could anyone miss it?

10 wealthy old people play a virtual reality game where they inhabit the bodies of young people. They have to kill one another leaving 1 person at the end who gets to keep the young body even in real life.

The idea is great and makes for great SciFi and some good ethical and moral questions. However, aside from Rutger Hauer's first 5 minutes, you quickly realise that the dialogue is awful, as if put together by some student writers who don't have a clue. It's like something from a 1950's melodrama.

The acting is pitiful mostly throughout the film. Not just bad, but embarrassingly bad. I felt for the actors, if they watched themselves on screen they may well be embarrassed at themselves for their poor performances.

Was it the Director that had no idea how to direct them? I don't know but the videographer was poor too. Obviously the camera was hand held throughout, but not even steady cam. So watching it was almost like having vertigo.

I gave it a 3 because I loved the idea of it and the overall storyline, I just think how it was brought to film was poor, amateurish and sloppy.

I was willing to get past the thought that it's one more "Survivor"/"Hunger Games" concept ripoff and was curious to see if they managed to do something different. The beginning was promising but then it quickly descended into cardboard cutout characters and not much action either.

I understand that this was a low budget production so they couldn't have much in terms of the SFX and action scenes but they could have made a great ensemble piece if they spent a lot more times thinking while writing, coming up with character developments and then treating it almost like a theatrical play with a lot of rehearsals. That's how a low budget production can compensate for the lack of expensive effects and fight choreographies - by taking the time to write much better script and rehearse actors to perfection.

Instead they pinched bits and pieces from different aspects available to this kind of movie and ended up with nothing. Even "romance & sex" scenes were unconvincing.

This attempt by Tino Navarro and David Rebordão to make a Portuguese sci-fi movie didn't go well.

The acting is bad. I've seen worse but in general it is bad. Some actors did well but not enough to save the movie.

The plot is simple. 10 old people pay to have their minds transfered to a new body to play a 10 hour game in which they fight for the chance to be young as long as they can. At each hour one of them has to die. This could be a good movie, but it missed the "good" part.

I didn't care for the characters! At all! I hate movies where I don't feel anything. I felt nothing in this movie. The camera was always shaking! You get used to it but it's annoying. And the whole movie was too predictable. The end wasn't, but I didn't like it anyway. And the movie had some flaws. But I'm not gonna point them. Don't wanna spoil anything (not that there's anything to spoil but yeah)

My opinion: Bad movie. Don't waste your money. Watch it at home if you're curious but don't expect much.

2/10. Not 1/10 because I liked the movie idea but unfortunately I hated everything else.