This is a strong version of 'The Most Dangerous Game' (1932) which is about, unfortunately or not, one of the most timeless of stories -- men hunting other men for sport. The original version was taken directly from the story by Richard Connell, which itself may have been inspired by the true story of John Colter being pursued by the Blackfoot Indians in old Wyoming.
There have been countless other versions with varying degrees of novelty or spin, some of the most interesting of which are the Robert Wise misfire remake 'A Game of Death' (1945); the ex-Nazis hunting Richard Widmark in 'Run for the Sun' (1956); Cornell Wilde's great African version 'The Naked Prey,' (1996) which was directly based on Colter's race for life; Van Damme's 'Hard Target' (1993), and now the almost perfect 'Surviving the Game.'
This one is marked with a strong and varied cast, with outstanding performances by Jeff Corey and Gary Busey, who, as a psychiatrist, gives one of the most chilling scenes ever filmed as he describes how he fought his pet killer dog to the death bare handed (a story that ends with almost post coital heavy breathing-- it sounds like he's not faking). After he finishes the story, Ice T says, deadpan, "Do your patients know about this?" Busey replies, with his patented maniacal glare, "No, but you do." Too bad Gary couldn't have been in more of the film!
Ice T does a fairly good job, with only two scenes showing him as a freshman actor, particular the weak cave back story dialog with John C. McGinley, a scene which, as others have noted, does nothing for the film but slow it down, except that it shows us more of the hypocrisy and double nature of the 'macho' hunters (McGinley uses an asthma spray, and is afraid of lizards). We also get the great stars Rutger Hauer, Charles S. Dutton and F. Murray Abraham as bad, bad boys also leading double lives as virtuous citizens who go to the woods to unleash the beast within. When they all have dinner the night before 'the hunt' you half expect them to be dining on human flesh!
The movie is beautifully photographed in the deep woods of Washington state, with great music and even some literal cliffhangers. It has a neat twist-- Ice T is a homeless survivor of the alleys who lives by his wits and his street honed body. The authenticity of his language adds to the realism he represents as opposed to the puerile yet horrifying male fantasies he must confront and overcome. He's the only one not leading a double life-- as Bob Dylan told us all those years ago, "To live outside the law you must be honest." From the beginning of the movie he's surrounded by death (his dog and his friend) as the table is set for the action to come.
The climax is also foreshadowed with the 'check the barrel' sequence. The first two times you really enjoy the whole movie, but the third time around the ending seemed like a preposterous arbitrarily tacked on ending. Why couldn't it have ended in the woods? How could Ice T magically appear back in his alleys of Seattle after a three day trek (?) from the deep woods? And why does Hauer, dressed as a priest, know where to bring his heavy artillery down there for the final battle? The ending, when it comes, seems too convenient and easy, or maybe just the surprise of it has worn off on the third viewing of the film.
Despite all these little quibbles, it's a guilty pleasure to watch where you enjoy rooting for Ice T in a well made, exciting movie.
There have been countless other versions with varying degrees of novelty or spin, some of the most interesting of which are the Robert Wise misfire remake 'A Game of Death' (1945); the ex-Nazis hunting Richard Widmark in 'Run for the Sun' (1956); Cornell Wilde's great African version 'The Naked Prey,' (1996) which was directly based on Colter's race for life; Van Damme's 'Hard Target' (1993), and now the almost perfect 'Surviving the Game.'
This one is marked with a strong and varied cast, with outstanding performances by Jeff Corey and Gary Busey, who, as a psychiatrist, gives one of the most chilling scenes ever filmed as he describes how he fought his pet killer dog to the death bare handed (a story that ends with almost post coital heavy breathing-- it sounds like he's not faking). After he finishes the story, Ice T says, deadpan, "Do your patients know about this?" Busey replies, with his patented maniacal glare, "No, but you do." Too bad Gary couldn't have been in more of the film!
Ice T does a fairly good job, with only two scenes showing him as a freshman actor, particular the weak cave back story dialog with John C. McGinley, a scene which, as others have noted, does nothing for the film but slow it down, except that it shows us more of the hypocrisy and double nature of the 'macho' hunters (McGinley uses an asthma spray, and is afraid of lizards). We also get the great stars Rutger Hauer, Charles S. Dutton and F. Murray Abraham as bad, bad boys also leading double lives as virtuous citizens who go to the woods to unleash the beast within. When they all have dinner the night before 'the hunt' you half expect them to be dining on human flesh!
The movie is beautifully photographed in the deep woods of Washington state, with great music and even some literal cliffhangers. It has a neat twist-- Ice T is a homeless survivor of the alleys who lives by his wits and his street honed body. The authenticity of his language adds to the realism he represents as opposed to the puerile yet horrifying male fantasies he must confront and overcome. He's the only one not leading a double life-- as Bob Dylan told us all those years ago, "To live outside the law you must be honest." From the beginning of the movie he's surrounded by death (his dog and his friend) as the table is set for the action to come.
The climax is also foreshadowed with the 'check the barrel' sequence. The first two times you really enjoy the whole movie, but the third time around the ending seemed like a preposterous arbitrarily tacked on ending. Why couldn't it have ended in the woods? How could Ice T magically appear back in his alleys of Seattle after a three day trek (?) from the deep woods? And why does Hauer, dressed as a priest, know where to bring his heavy artillery down there for the final battle? The ending, when it comes, seems too convenient and easy, or maybe just the surprise of it has worn off on the third viewing of the film.
Despite all these little quibbles, it's a guilty pleasure to watch where you enjoy rooting for Ice T in a well made, exciting movie.