After Cosmic Sin (2021), Breach (2020), Out of Death (2021) and Midnight in the Switchgrass (2021), here is the fifth Bruce Willis movie in the last year or so: Survive the Game (2021). This is a hectic work schedule for Bruce and, frankly, the strain is starting to show.
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What is Survive The Game (2021) about?
Busting into a factory, two detectives follow a lead which may take them to the whereabouts of a major gang in the area. Things don’t go quite to plan which leads to the mayhem that follows.
The two officers are grizzled old Bruce Willis and a young partner who seems desperate to prove himself to his older colleague. The ensuing chaos brings these characters to the farm of recently widowed Eric (Chad Michael Murray).
Die Hard On A Farm without the Yippee-ki-yay
What follows is standard procedure as various goons are dispatched until we have a grand finale.
I could call this ‘Die Hard On A Farm’, but sadly Bruce is pushed to the side far too often and the heavy lifting is left to the younger cast, such as Murray, who sadly doesn’t have quite the same potential for charisma.
British Roots
The film has a script from Ross Peacock, a young British writer presenting his debut motion picture script. Sadly, most of the writing is largely formulaic but there are a few hints of originality and humour provided by the British henchman played by Simon Philips. These moments suggest that there is the potential for a bright future here, especially if he stays in areas with which he is familiar.
Channelling Margot Robbie?
The film opens with just two henchmen, played by Zack Ward and Kate Katzman. These two chew the scenery for all they are worth, especially Katzman who seems to be channelling Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (2016).
From there they seem to breed like rabbits: first two, then four, then…you get the picture. Each henchman is brought in just to give us one extra fight or chase before the final round.
That is when it gets explosive.
Clarity of vision
One problem with many action movies is a lack of cohesion and an inability to work out where you are in relation to everything else. In fairness, director James Cullen Bressack keeps the pacing tight and the story flowing well. This is quite an achievement, considering the complexity as the number of characters swell.
Maximum ham
Certainly, there is nothing new to see here and at times it can seem a little preposterous. The acting from the villains is on maximum ham and only a few lines really jump out at you.
However, there is a clarity in the movie which makes it easy to view, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many people watching will look at this and think ‘I could do this’.
Credits
Editors: Ben Kelly, Richard Williams
Artwork: Richard Williams
Images courtesy of Lionsgate
From video store manager to English teacher but generally just a complete nerd about all things related to cinema.
Writer and editor from the north of Scotland, lifelong movie enthusiast. Always looking for an unseen classic, watching something new every day.
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