--- title: "The Game: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-game/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-game" critics_score: 71 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Game (1997): what the critics said Critics' score 71 from 11 reviews: 5 positive, 6 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like The Game without quite loving it: five positive, six mixed, none hostile. The praise lands in two places. Michael Douglas is singled out repeatedly, as a cold man played with full commitment or a desperate pawn well cast. Fincher’s direction draws nearly as much approval: the clinical precision, the haunting atmosphere of a waking nightmare, the careful, darkly funny pacing of the twists as Nicholas Van Orton’s controlled life comes apart. The reservations gather round the ending. Several reviews call the finale implausible; the question is whether that is a flaw or the point. Radio Times finds the film turns glossy and trivial after a fascinating setup; Empire cannot decide whether it is gloriously or irritatingly unbelievable; Variety admires the puzzle more than it warms to it. The later reviews are kinder: The AV Club argues the implausible finale earns its emotional release, and the Los Angeles Times says repeat viewings make the conclusion easier to accept. Nobody dismisses it. ## Slant Magazine — Chris Cabin Rating 4.5/5. 25 September 2012. Cabin praises The Game as an inventive, challenging film and calls the Criterion release a welcome presentation of a masterpiece. He especially singles out Michael Douglas’s performance and the disc’s image and sound quality. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-game/) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 March 2012. D’Angelo passionately argues that the film’s implausible finale delivers profound emotional catharsis. He especially praises Fincher’s visual direction and Michael Douglas’s committed performance as a cold, unsympathetic man. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-game-1798230322) ## Total Film — Total Film Rating 4/5. 10 October 1997. The critic calls the film a compelling, excellent and unusually challenging ride, though its surreal approach may not suit everyone. They praise Michael Douglas’s performance and Fincher’s darkly funny, carefully paced handling of the twists. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-game-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Dennis Lim Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 29 September 2012. Lim argues that the film remains an absorbing, surprising experience, and that repeat viewings make its implausible conclusion easier to accept. He especially praises its immersive waking-nightmare atmosphere and the pleasure of its elaborate game, while acknowledging the ending’s anticlimax. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-sep-29-la-et-mn-second-look-20120930-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). The URL identifies a RogerEbert.com review of the 1997 film. The page only displays a browser-check message, so its verdict and specific praise or complaint cannot be verified. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-game-1997) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 14 September 1997. McCarthy finds the film intellectually intriguing and technically impressive, though its puzzle-like focus makes it easier to admire than embrace. He particularly praises Fincher’s clinical precision and the unnerving way the film shows Nicholas’s controlled life being eroded. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1997/film/reviews/the-game-2-1117329490/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 12 September 1997. The blocked page provides no readable critical verdict. No praise or complaint can be verified from the available text. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/12/movies/film-review-terrifying-tricks-that-make-a-big-man-little.html) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The available page identifies this as Time Out’s review of the 1997 film. Its verdict and specific praise or complaint are unavailable because the article text could not be read. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-game) ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 3/5. Jones finds the thriller stylish and suspenseful, with Douglas well cast as a desperate pawn. He faults it for becoming glossy and trivial after an initially fascinating setup. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-9c45iz/the-game/) ## Empire — Andrew Collins Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The review sees the thriller as either gloriously or irritatingly unbelievable, while still calling it a worthy, dark follow-up to Seven. It singles out the film’s escalating collapse of Nick Van Orton’s life as its central appeal. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/game-review/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 May 2006. The review is clearly positive, calling Michael Douglas electrifying in the lead role. It also praises Fincher’s haunting visual atmosphere and the film’s sustained uncertainty about reality. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-game-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-game.md