Dangerous Game (1991)

A LITTLE MIDNIGHT SHOPPING SPREE

DANGEROUS GAME is an early film from director Stephen Hopkins (The Ghost and the Darkness; Predator 2). Filmed in the early nineties in Sydney, Australia, it's a clever, but overwrought, little thriller that doesn't know when to end its welcome. We meet a quartet of teenagers who are being harassed by a particularly abusive cop. Seems that he lost a promotion due to one of the teenager's father's actions, so now he hounds this boy and gives him speeding tickets, moves his car into a no parking zone, that kind of "harmless" abuse. Things go sour though when the cop wrecks his motorcycle into a bunch of other cop's cycles on a supposed high speed chase with his teenage nemesis. Needless to say, he is suspended and he seeks revenge. The cop obviously has some deep psychological problems. Meanwhile, the computer nerd of the teen group, shows off his hacking skills by getting the foursome into a high profile department store after hours. They manage to get into the building, but they didn't count on maniac cop following them, and they end up getting trapped in the building with the cop. The movie then loses its steam because it takes too much time showing the kids exploring the store, and the cop isn't menacing until he accidentally kills one of the teens with his knife. From there on, it's just one long chase, that does have some atmospheric impact, but if they had sped up the action some, it might have been a much better movie. The cast does very well, though. Steven Grives as Murphy the cop, is excellent in his portrayal of a man who is on the verge of losing the life he loves; Miles Buchanan, Sandie Lillingston, Kathryn Walker and John Polson don't stretch their limits, but they are effective as the somewhat doomed kids. Its cryptic ending is a little over the top, but for movies of this type, DANGEROUS GAME does okay. March 30, 2005

Do not be misled

Do not be misled: The 1993 movie, "Dangerous Game," starring Harvey Keitel and Madonna, is NOT the same movie as the 1991 film of the same title. As of January 2005, the 1993 Keitel/Madonna film has NOT been released on Region 1 DVD (for North America). Unfortunately, Amazon has confused the two, and features reviews of the 1993 film (from customers in the UK and France, where it apparently HAS been released) under the product description for the 1993 film.

The 1991 film, "Dangerous Game," was directed by Stephen Hopkins, and stars Steven Grives and Marcus Graham. It's basically about a group of teens trapped overnight in a department store with a killer.

The 1993 film, "Dangerous Game," was directed by Abel Ferrara, and stars Harvey Keitel and Madonna. This one's basically about a filmmaker's adultery while shooting a movie.

(Since this review is strictly for the sake of clarification, I'm giving it a "neutral" 3.) January 5, 2005

A dark tale of creation

Abel Ferrara is back with this nauseating and nihilistic tales about creation and redemption (or redemption in creation).
A director (Harvey Keitel) who's unable to manage his private life, tries to find reality and truth in his new project, a film about a woman, Claire, who finds her faith, when she's been leading a rather promiscuious, wild life with her husband.
A film in a film. His two leading actors, Madonna and James Russo are to give him this truth he cannot find alone. And as the film progresses, the two actors lose touch with their own reality and can't make the difference between the character they're playing and themselves.
Keitel is perfect as Ferrara's alter ego. It's also interesting to note that Ferrara used Madonna for what, generally, people took her for: not a really good actress. But the transformation she goes through in the film while playing an actress who becomes a good actress playing a woman finding God, is very impressive. (She was the surprising revelation for European critics.)
This mirror game leaves the viewer rather confused, but Ferrara's statement about creation, illusion and images is more than interesting.
Unfortunately, the film is much too dark and hopeless. But if you manage to stand this nihilistic experience, you'll discover quite a good film. April 23, 2004

Interesting and very dark

Starring Madonna (don't let that put you off) Harvey Keitel and James Russo, and directed by Abel Ferrera, this is an interesting psychological drama about a directors obsession with his film, and the stars breakdown of reality during ther making of it.
A dark, interesting but flawed film, which is well acted (certainly top 3 for Madonna, Evita and Desperately Seeking Susan being her best) but leaves you unsatisfied because of the ambiguous ending and that the film they are making seems to be more interesting than the actual film!
Its worth noting, that Madonna refused to do any promotional work on this film, as she was disappointed with the edit. Apparently her character was much stronger prior to editting than the victim portrayed in the final cut.
No extras on the DVD. March 17, 2004

More reviews at Amazon.com ...