RPG stole only the best ideas from other young adult movies
in order to whip up its own killing cocktail
You know as well as I do that Young Adult novels have fueled a good solid handful of studio blockbusters.
We’ve had the Twilight novels and films. We’re in the midst of The Hunger Games (and luscious Jennifer Lawrence) taking all of red-blooded mankind by storm. And 2014’s The Maze Runner (quite good) and Divergent (equally interesting) made enough money at the box office to greenlight their respective sequels. Now, if that isn’t a trend, then I certainly don’t know what one is!
Well, when you have trends and they’re successful, then rest assured that you’re also in store for a whole bunch of relative knock-offs to eventually rear their ugly, imitative heads.
Some of them will be good.
Some of them will be bad.
Some of them will be downright ugly.
Where RPG: Real Playing Game will ultimately rank is yet to be determined, but – for my money – it’s SciFi-Lite magic kept my interest from start-to-finish, though it probably cost about as much as the usual Syfy Channel Saturday night movie even though it’s only a wee bit smarter.
Plus, it never hurts to cast Rutger Hauer … even if it’s a small role!
We’ve had the Twilight novels and films. We’re in the midst of The Hunger Games (and luscious Jennifer Lawrence) taking all of red-blooded mankind by storm. And 2014’s The Maze Runner (quite good) and Divergent (equally interesting) made enough money at the box office to greenlight their respective sequels. Now, if that isn’t a trend, then I certainly don’t know what one is!
Well, when you have trends and they’re successful, then rest assured that you’re also in store for a whole bunch of relative knock-offs to eventually rear their ugly, imitative heads.
Some of them will be good.
Some of them will be bad.
Some of them will be downright ugly.
Where RPG: Real Playing Game will ultimately rank is yet to be determined, but – for my money – it’s SciFi-Lite magic kept my interest from start-to-finish, though it probably cost about as much as the usual Syfy Channel Saturday night movie even though it’s only a wee bit smarter.
Plus, it never hurts to cast Rutger Hauer … even if it’s a small role!
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last three paragraphs for my final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“In a future world not too far away, multimillionaire Steve Battier (Rutger Hauer) is dying from a terminal disease. He accepts an offer from a biotechnological company that provides a very select group of clients the opportunity to be young again and free from disease … but there is a catch. Steve is joined by 9 other powerful players of the world, and they scheme against each other to survive. It soon turns into a game of death for all but one. He will enjoy all the seductions of youth, but may have to pay the ultimate price.”
As is often the case, if it all sounds too good to believe then you shouldn’t believe it … but that never stopped any screenwriter from attempting to cash in on a trend, especially when that trend is going bonkers at the box office. RPG: Real Playing Game is just that: it’s a low-budget knock-off trying to capture a percentage of the field reserved by The Hunger Games (survival of the fittest), The Maze Runner (we're all trapped in a box), and Divergent (we're not gonna take this anymore!) by trying to throw only the best elements of each into the wacky, weird cinematic blender, hoping the end result might produce a winning cocktail.
Basically, its lean premise grants a bunch of jilted terminal codgers the chance to find a new set of younger days if (and only if) they're willing to risk their current lives as a trade-off. With the use of a corporation's mind-altering technology, their consciousness gets inserted into hot, young, sweaty, hormone-infested bodies of their own choosing, but they have to sacrifice (for the time being) all that their accumulated wisdom as well as who they are while being tasked with killing one another in this modern-age retelling of Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians.'
What's the catch, you wonder?
The game requires the killer to have successfully figured out which of their future identities they've murdered or the gaming system magically snuffs the murderer in the process. (Yes, it may sound more than a bit convoluted, but it works for the purposes of a stand-alone motion picture.)
As a low-budget knock-off, I suppose it’s the kind of harmless flick audiences might scarf up in the downtime between Katniss far more epic adventures; but most of this one’s cast are entirely forgettable as characters don’t matter so much as the ideas they inhabit. Granted, there are a few exceptions: Cian Barry lacks any recognizable menace his character succumbs to in the end but handles the lesser moments quite nicely; Genevieve Capovilla is clearly intent on using her duplicitousness to ensure only her survival; and a lovely Alix Wilton Regan effectively keeps one’s interest in the game as she’s the only one who’s wielding a makeshift weapon from the get-go.
Besides -- as I said above -- what legitimate fanboy is really going to pass up the chance to see Hauer in any SciFi role?
From the product packaging:
“In a future world not too far away, multimillionaire Steve Battier (Rutger Hauer) is dying from a terminal disease. He accepts an offer from a biotechnological company that provides a very select group of clients the opportunity to be young again and free from disease … but there is a catch. Steve is joined by 9 other powerful players of the world, and they scheme against each other to survive. It soon turns into a game of death for all but one. He will enjoy all the seductions of youth, but may have to pay the ultimate price.”
As is often the case, if it all sounds too good to believe then you shouldn’t believe it … but that never stopped any screenwriter from attempting to cash in on a trend, especially when that trend is going bonkers at the box office. RPG: Real Playing Game is just that: it’s a low-budget knock-off trying to capture a percentage of the field reserved by The Hunger Games (survival of the fittest), The Maze Runner (we're all trapped in a box), and Divergent (we're not gonna take this anymore!) by trying to throw only the best elements of each into the wacky, weird cinematic blender, hoping the end result might produce a winning cocktail.
Basically, its lean premise grants a bunch of jilted terminal codgers the chance to find a new set of younger days if (and only if) they're willing to risk their current lives as a trade-off. With the use of a corporation's mind-altering technology, their consciousness gets inserted into hot, young, sweaty, hormone-infested bodies of their own choosing, but they have to sacrifice (for the time being) all that their accumulated wisdom as well as who they are while being tasked with killing one another in this modern-age retelling of Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians.'
What's the catch, you wonder?
The game requires the killer to have successfully figured out which of their future identities they've murdered or the gaming system magically snuffs the murderer in the process. (Yes, it may sound more than a bit convoluted, but it works for the purposes of a stand-alone motion picture.)
As a low-budget knock-off, I suppose it’s the kind of harmless flick audiences might scarf up in the downtime between Katniss far more epic adventures; but most of this one’s cast are entirely forgettable as characters don’t matter so much as the ideas they inhabit. Granted, there are a few exceptions: Cian Barry lacks any recognizable menace his character succumbs to in the end but handles the lesser moments quite nicely; Genevieve Capovilla is clearly intent on using her duplicitousness to ensure only her survival; and a lovely Alix Wilton Regan effectively keeps one’s interest in the game as she’s the only one who’s wielding a makeshift weapon from the get-go.
Besides -- as I said above -- what legitimate fanboy is really going to pass up the chance to see Hauer in any SciFi role?
RPG: Real Playing Game (2013) is produced by MGN Filmes. DVD distribution is being handled by the reliable Arc Entertainment. As for the technical specifications, this is one well-produced feature with some fairly high quality sights and sounds (though anyone looking close can see some mildly subpar CGI effects in a few sequences). Lastly, if you’re looking for special features, then you’ll be disappointed as there are none, save the theatrical trailer.
(MILDLY) RECOMMENDED.
In the era of Young-Adult-style movies populating the cineplexes, here’s yet one more attempt to tap into The Hunger Games territory … only this one is called RPG: Real Playing Games, doesn’t have the budget, nor half of the original’s inspiration. Maybe you should think of it as 'The Anger Games'? Still, it’s an effective look at a probably tomorrow wherein all the old rich want to do is regain a chance for youth, though how they spend it hear kinda/sorta defeats its own purpose for most of the players. Some respectable acting by the youngsters, though I’ll probably forget this film in a fortnight.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arc Entertainment provided me with a DVD copy of RPG by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
(MILDLY) RECOMMENDED.
In the era of Young-Adult-style movies populating the cineplexes, here’s yet one more attempt to tap into The Hunger Games territory … only this one is called RPG: Real Playing Games, doesn’t have the budget, nor half of the original’s inspiration. Maybe you should think of it as 'The Anger Games'? Still, it’s an effective look at a probably tomorrow wherein all the old rich want to do is regain a chance for youth, though how they spend it hear kinda/sorta defeats its own purpose for most of the players. Some respectable acting by the youngsters, though I’ll probably forget this film in a fortnight.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arc Entertainment provided me with a DVD copy of RPG by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.