The Game
Metascore
61 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
view
per page
  1. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    50
    It also has wild plot holes and requires an almost inhuman suspension of disbelief, but it's still a fun ride up to a point.
  2. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    50
    What emerges is a very poor man's North by Northwest without much moral nuance and a decreasing number of thrills.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    The movie's thriller elements are given an additional gloss by the skill of the technical credits, and the wicked wit of the dialogue.
  4. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    On the surface, The Game is an unusually imaginative thriller that bends its offbeat plot into so many twists that you actually have to pay attention - something few Hollywood movies demand nowadays - to understand its evolution and enjoy the multiple payoffs at the end.
  5. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    50
    In The Game, Fincher pulls back from the total gross-out but sustains a tone of aggravated anxiety. Hitchcock could have done this material and still made its perversities pleasurable.
  6. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    83
    An intensely exciting puzzle-gimmick thriller, the kind of movie that lets you know from the start that it's slyly aware of its own absurdity.
  7. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    70
    This is not a movie that can bear much postgame scrutiny. The minute you begin to question one element of the plot, gaping holes of logic appear throughout.
  8. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    As it's unspooling on screen, the film is hugely entertaining, but there are several significant plot holes that grow wider the more closely they're investigated.
  9. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    50
    By any fair standard, this lushly produced film is a long, bumpy ride to a major letdown.
  10. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Charles Taylor
    60
    Fincher is still working on the assumption that he has better things to do than entertain an audience. Which would be fine if he weren't drawn to such schlocky material.
  11. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    At times The Game is frustrating to watch, but that's just a measure of how well Fincher succeeds in putting us in his hero's shoes.
  12. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Barbara Shulgasser
    75
    The disappointing ending aside, there is much to enjoy in The Game, a creation with a sheen so highly burnished that sometimes you feel you must look away.
  13. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    60
    It's a stylish, cleverly plotted, perpetually unpredictable film with another electric (albeit brief) performance from Penn. So why is it so unaffecting?
  14. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    63
    This sort of flick can be fun, and there are moments here when it is, when a suddenly shifting perspective tosses us for a dizzying loop. Then again, there's such a thing as too much fun and too many moments -- at over two hours, this particular game meanders on way past its welcome.
  15. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    70
    Mr. Douglas, who delivers a new shade of cruel elegance each time he plays another urbane monster, is the ideal star for this vigorously contrived thriller.
  16. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    60
    It's a cut above the throng of mindless, purported thrillers in which explosions and gun battles replace even rudimentary story telling.
  17. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    70
    The film itself is limited by the material's nature as a brainy exercise and by its narrow focus; individual response will depend upon how tantalized one is by puzzles and games, as well as upon how off-putting one finds the central character, who is center-stage throughout.
  18. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    80
    It's formulaic, yet edgy. It's predictable, yet full of surprises. How far you get through this tall tale of a thriller before you give up and howl is a matter of personal taste.
  19. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Stephen Hunter
    40
    Certainly handsome, well made and for most of its running time gripping, the film ultimately turns into a $60-odd-million piffle.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 53 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Korne
    10
    The game is a movie for people that like to keep thinking. Fincher manages to make the audience paranoid to what and who are actually a part of this crazy "game". It manages to tap into the same fiction that made Total Recall a success while replacing the sci-fi parts with real world craziness, as well as some of the most subtle character development I've seen in a long time. However, it is impossible to reveal any specifics without spoiling some part of story, which would be a shame to any first time viewer.

    If you enjoyed movies like Total Recall, Inception, The Matrix, or even Truman Show, give this movie a shot. The Game will stick with you for a while for all of the right reasons.    … Full Review »
  2. Riren
    9
    If you want to make thrillers, watch The Game three times: watch it once for the love of a good movie, watch it a second time to study how its plot twists are organized, and watch it a third for one of the best collections of dream-like scenes in modern film. The Game is a smart, capable thriller that earns its slick, dark appearance. It's cast is at first competent and quickly grows into a universally interesting group of faces. The plot is layered in a great execution of a wonderfully novel premise: how much of this horror story is the game? The Game earns every inch that it takes, and while it is far-fetched, you can't sit down to watch a movie about an organization that uses conspiracies and mobs of actors to infiltrate and ruin your entire life without suspending disbelief. The Game deserves that suspension, thanks to superb suspense.… Full Review »
  3. le_one
    10
    Don't just watch it. Think about it. Wonder about everything. Is that really happening? Or is it the game? It really keeps you EXTREMELY curious. It won't disappoint you, I promise.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »