Jogo Perigoso

Okay, I'll come straight out of the traps and say; the premise of this movie (like every "game" movie or series) is highly unrealistic.

I'll also say: it doesn't matter. Suspend your disbelief, it's a thriller.

It's well scripted, well acted, well paced. Christopher Walt is phenomenal as always. Hemsworth plays his part well, the hunters, especially Webster as the British gentleman ice pick hunter, are on point.

Put your logical brain at the door, relax, pour yourself a drink and just enjoy.

The movie itself is typical B movie action fare. The type of movie Bruce Willis and Jeremy Irons would have headlined a generation ago. Better acted than most, and filming on location in gritty downtown Detroit added a nice atmosphere. It's actually beautifully shot, with Hemsworth and Walz delivering solidly.

A word about the format, since a few commenters are complaining. This movie is not meant to be binged, and it's not an episodic TV show in the traditional sense. It's more like a return to the serial. 60 years ago, if you went to the movies, while waiting for the feature, you would see a one reel serial, about 10 minutes. It might be Buck Rogers, or the Lone Ranger, or something long forgotten. It would continue week after week. Each one would have a cliffhanger to bring you back.

I watched this movie in 1, sometimes 2, episode bursts, when I had a little free time during the workday. It was a great escape.

What begins as an intriguing premise careens into total implausibility when it jumps the shark at the confessional. While I enjoy Christopher Waltz's smarmy villainy and Liam Hemsworth's dashing persona, they are not enough to redeem this cat-and-mouse escapade. Don't waste your time.

If it didn't have Hemsworth and Waltz in it, this'd be a 3.9 star rated low budget it is, the star power is making people rate it much too high. It's not just the plot holes, like wouldn't the hero plan his last day on Earth a little better, maybe scout locations, pick those with best odds of survival rather than run off at random? The biggest problem this movie has, they spent so much on the two big guns they couldn't afford decent villains so we're stuck with hopelessly cast sub par actors and to make it even worse, the villains are just bad. The icing on the cake is the Quibi format, it just kills what little cinematic pleasure there might be left. Best skipped and forgotten about.

Watched as a full film on Prime rather than a short episodes. Standard action film, nothing too cerebal but good fun, felt a bit like a modern day Running Man.