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Gamer

Play trailer 2:24 Poster for Gamer R 2009 1h 35m Action Mystery & Thriller Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
29% Tomatometer 80 Reviews 39% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Each week Kable, a death-row inmate, battles his fellow prisoners in a violent online game called "Slayers," his every move controlled by a young gamer's remote device. To the players, Kable and the other inmates are just simulated characters. But, to a resistance group that opposes the game's inventor, Kable is a critical component of their plan to end the inventor's form of high-tech slavery.
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Gamer

Gamer

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Critics Consensus

With all of the hyperkinetic action and none of the flair of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor's earlier work, Gamer has little replay value.

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Critics Reviews

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Keith Uhlich Time Out Nov 17, 2011
3/5
Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor direct with their usual flashy brio. Go to Full Review Kim Newman Empire Magazine Sep 18, 2009
3/5
An injection of adrenaline straight to the eye - which isn't entirely a bad thing. Go to Full Review Sukhdev Sandhu Daily Telegraph (UK) Sep 18, 2009
0/5
Can I get back the ninety minutes of my life that I squandered sitting through this miasmic upchuck of techno sludge? What was the story again? Go to Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Sep 4, 2023
1.5/4
A hostile movie that pretends to contain some semblance of criticism toward escalating video game brutality and social detachment. But its commentary is presented underneath an orgy of Hollywood movie violence and gratuitous boob close-ups. Go to Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Sep 8, 2020
1.0/4.0
A throwaway film. Go to Full Review Patrick Dahl Screen Slate Mar 5, 2019
Gamer doesn't import gaming aesthetics to the movies so much as it considers the gaming medium with every weapon in the cinematic arsenal. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert P @Superbad 1 day ago this movie has been done before starring Arnold Swarzenegger (sp?) it's called the Running Man... thus my *2* star review! See more Jaime B @RT83643239 Apr 15, 2026 Easy to root for Butler, but each game action sequence had no point. Every video game has a strategy except this one. M.C. Hall bad guy lifted straight from a James Bond movie. Over-the-top idiotic acting. Attempts at social commentary were heavy-handed. The tech details were vague and confusing. No good antagonist. Terry Crews bad guy was stupid. This film needed a script doctor to dig deeper into theme and characters. See more Tina K @tinaksf Feb 13, 2026 Interesting concept. Too disjointed. Gratuitous violence and nudity. See more Ry N. @RyGuy Jan 27, 2026 Gamers control the brains of real life death row inmates to play a shooter game. It’s a good story in the hands of terrible directors, this movie is on drugs with annoying characters and cringey over the top nudity. See more Paula L @PaulaNethan Jan 20, 2026 I went through seven minutes into the movie and the concept made me naseous. It really sucks because I liked the actors in the movie.It was so annoying because actors like the guy from dexter and the guy from Percy Jackson were in it and I LOVE THEM. I wish they picked a better script. RIP DONT WATCH IT DONT RECCOMEND IT! See more Talea J @Tj280 Jan 17, 2026 I don't mind a movie you can switch off to occasionally, and the trailer looked okay, but couldn't make it through the actual movie without dozing off. This was after a few attempts to watch it. The idea is pretty interesting, however, Gamer unfortunately lacked the depth to support its attempt at being edgy. See more Read all reviews
Gamer

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Mark Neveldine

Director

Brian Taylor

Director

Gerard Butler

Kable

Michael C. Hall

Ken Castle

Amber Valletta

Angie

Logan Lerman

Simon

Movie Clips

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Gamer

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Gamer

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Gamer

(L-R) Gerard Butler as Kable and Terry Crews as Hackman in "Gamer." Michael C. Hall as Ken Castle in "Gamer." (L-R) Kyra Sedgwick as Gina Parker Smith, Aaron Yoo as Humanz Dude, Alison Lohman as Trace and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Humanz Brother in "Gamer." (L-R) Amber Valletta as Angie and Gerard Butler as Kable in "Gamer." (L-R) Gerard Butler as Kable and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Humanz Brother in "Gamer." Gerard Butler as Kable in "Gamer." Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Humanz Brother in "Gamer." (Second from right) Gerard Butler as Kable in "Gamer." A scene from the film "Gamer." A scene from the film "Gamer." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Each week Kable, a death-row inmate, battles his fellow prisoners in a violent online game called "Slayers," his every move controlled by a young gamer's remote device. To the players, Kable and the other inmates are just simulated characters. But, to a resistance group that opposes the game's inventor, Kable is a critical component of their plan to end the inventor's form of high-tech slavery.
Director
Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Producer
Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Skip Williamson, Richard S. Wright
Screenwriter
Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
Production Co
Lionsgate Films, Lakeshore Entertainment
Rating
R (Nudity|Language|Sexual Content|Strong Brutal Violence)
Genre
Action, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 4, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$20.5M
Runtime
1h 35m
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