Review: Elimination Game

Altitude Film Distribution, Out Now

After being held responsible for a massacre during World War Africa, Navy SEAL Rick Tyler has to survive a deadly game show…

Yes, it’s yet another Hunger Games rip-off, with a little bit of Prison Break added – not just because of the presence of Dominic Purcell – and any old conspiracy theory. Aiming at, but completely missing to hit the target, of the level of satire of something like Robocop, Elimination Game is 90 minutes of confusion, with Purcell really seeming to not be focusing on what he’s doing half the time. The dialogue is predictable, with former Sound of Music and Spider-Man star Nicholas Hammond given some truly appalling lines to deliver as the general responsible for the war, as well as featuring in one of the biggest – and there’s a lot of competition for this award! – continuity errors in the piece at the end.

The writers (one of whom stars, the other of whom directs) can’t seem to decide what level to pitch this at, so the script constantly jumps from the levels of Turkey Shoot (the game within the film, as well as the name of the exploitation movie upon which this is based) to meaningful conversations about the conspiracy, which are even less convincing than those Purcell got caught up with in the final season of Prison Break. The action could have been the film’s saving grace, but the attackers don’t live up to their billing by the oh-so-annoying game announcers – one of the first fight sequences is so badly edited and shot that you will almost certainly start to smile.

Verdict: A lot of potential in both set-up and production simply isn’t realised. 3/10

Paul Simpson