Bullet Points: Survive the Game
Lionsgate presents Survive the Game. Look for it in select theaters and VOD on October 8th, and it will be available to own on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 12th. Yippee Ki Yay!!
- The Plot: A pair of cops (Bruce Willis and Swen Temmel) are involved in a shootout with some bad guys. Following the shootout, the cops and bad guys all end up at a farmhouse owned by a grieving widower (Chad Michael Murray). Who will survive the game? Survive the Game also stars Sean Kanan, Donna D’Errico, Zack Ward, Kate Katzman, Kristos Andrews and Michael Sirow. Survive the Game is directed by James Cullen Bressack, and it is written by Ross Peacock.
- The Title: Do not get Survive the Game confused with Survive the Night. They both feature Bruce Willis and Chad Michael Murray. The films however have nothing to do with each other. Also, do not get Survive the Game confused with the 1994 film starring Ice-T, Surviving the Game. Again, the films are not related. At least the title sounds better than the last Willis film, Out of Death.
- The Pillows: According to intensive market research, the number one reason why action fanatics click on my Bruce Willis reviews is to find out just how lazy Bruce is. Although Bruce is smack dab in the middle of the movie poster, his screen time is limited. He sits down, a lot. Stuart Wilson gets plenty of action as Bruce’s head double, stand in and stuntman. I do like how Bruce plays a cranky old man. He is constantly telling one of the bad guys he is going to kill him, and he likes to talk a lot of trash to anyone who will listen. As someone who has watched enough Bruce Willis DTV, I can honesty say he is used about as good as you are going to get from 2021 Bruce Willis. I have seen him a lot lazier. 3 pillows of 5.
Ross Peacock is the writer of Survive the Game and this is his first script to be turned into a movie. Congratulations, Ross! You never forget your first time. To further tackle Ross’ first script, I picked some quotes from the film to showcase his writing range. Here we go…
- “You make me hard with a gun in your hand, girl” – Oh boy, hopefully you don’t get canceled for this quote : )
- “You’re killing me Smalls.” – Hmm, I think I’ve heard this one a few thousand times in my life.
- “You need to take a Yoga class.” – I honestly would not mind attending a Yoga class for the scenic views.
- “Ready for anything, like a panther.” Fuck yes, Ross! I’ll fight a panther with you.
- “This is my farm, bitches!” – Ross is right, you don’t fuck with a man’s farm.
- “You got insurance? Because your house is shot to shit?” – Hopefully, you don’t have cheap ass insurance and your coverage is denied.
Keep writing, Ross!
- The Action: I do believe James Cullen Bressack is steadily improving as an action director. Survive the Game isn’t an instant classic, but it is about as watchable as 2021 Bruce Willis can be. My criticism is the fight angles could’ve been shot smoother and how many times does Swen Temmel choke a baddie to death? Was this to prevent the use of CG blood? I will give James props for casting Donna D’Erico as one of the baddies. Can you say: Holy Baywatch Playboy Playmate Nikki Sixx! My heart kickstarted from seeing her on screen. I also like seeing Mike Barnes aka Sean Kanan. I hope Sean is in Season 4 of Cobra Kai. Let’s not talk about why the one baddie babe looked like affordable Harley Quinn. That’s for another day.
- Final Thoughts: I survived Survive the Game and I lived to write about it. Fans of Bruce Willis DTV should feel right at home.
- Grade: C+
