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MOVIE REVIEW

Game Night

also known as “Noche de juegos,” “A Noite do Jogo,” “Druzabni vecer,” See more »
MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for language, sexual references and some violence.

Reviewed by: Francisco Gomez Jr.
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Extremely Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Action Crime Black-Comedy
Length: 1 hr. 40 min.
Year of Release: 2018
USA Release: February 23, 2018 (wide—3,300+ theaters)
DVD: May 22, 2018
Copyright, New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Picturesclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures
Relevant Issues

Sibling rivalry

Jealousy

What is Christian LOVE? Answer

Murder in the Bible

Death

Copyright, New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures
Featuring Jason BatemanMax
Rachel McAdamsAnnie
Kyle Chandler … Brooks
Jesse Plemons … Gary
Michael C. Hall …
Chelsea Peretti …
Billy Magnussen … Ryan
Kylie Bunbury … Michelle
Danny Huston … Anderton
See all »
Director John Francis Daley
Jonathan Goldstein
Producer Jason Bateman
Richard Brener
See all »
Distributor
Distributor: New Line Cinema. Trademark logo.
New Line Cinema
, division of Warner Bros. Pictures

“This is not a game.”

Game night for many is a time for fun and relaxation, but it is not so for Max (Jason Bateman) and his wife Annie (Rachel McAdams). They’re game night is crashed by Max’s multi-millionaire brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler), and their favorite night of the week is turned into a nightmare. Brooks hires the company “Murder We Wrote” which creates a realistic role playing game. However, Brooks gets kidnapped by real criminals, and so the film follows Max, Annie, and their group of friends as they try to save Brooks. There are plenty of twists along the way and they must deal with the cards dealt to them. Therefore, I cannot detail much more. In this review, I will start with moviemaking quality before I talk about objectionable content—which this movie abounds with.

The intriguing and mysterious plot is the first thing the movie gets right. The progression of the “game” parallels with the growth of characters. As the night goes on, they begin to understand how they relate to each other, and why they care about each other. It leads to several heartfelt moments.

There are twists I thought I saw coming from a mile away, but I had the rug swept from under me every time. It is a film that keeps you on your toes. The movie manages to make several clean jokes that do hit the mark. With a commanding performance, Rachel McAdams continues to show that she loves her comedic roots. Bateman’s chemistry with McAdams gives the film its heart and a sense of charisma.

John Daley and Jonathan Goldstein direct the movie superbly from a technical aspect. There is a continuously shot scene that demonstrates their high level of proficiency that would not typically be expected from a comedy. The acting, direction, design, and writing are all good on such a small budget; clearly the whole crew wanted to make a good film, and from a secular standard they achieved that goal.

What should Christians look forward to in this film? Not very much. It is vulgar, profane, and full of crude humor. I like to be detailed with content for concern, as our readers count on us for accurate information, but the content was so abundant I could not keep track. Suffice it to say, you can expect it at every turn. There is foul language every couple of sentences. There is no nudity in the film, but sexually crude jokes are prevalent. There is a whole subplot of a character guessing with which celebrity his wife slept with before their marriage.

There is a surprising amount of violence. Annie makes an incision on Max’s arm in frame in order to get a bullet out. Some characters die or are shot. There is also a scene that involves humans being treated as possessions for underground fighting. Characters drink throughout the film.

This film is the very definition of a dark-comedy, and has the content to prove it. The film shows criminal life to be unrewarding, but in the end undermines that message for comedic effect. The content is frustrating because under all the distracting vulgarity there is a film with a touching message on envy, forgiveness, and family.

Spiritual Lessons

Brooks had originally set up game night in order for Max to win his car, because it is Max’s dream car. It is later revealed that Brooks wanted to make up for constantly undermining Max throughout their life. Brooks was envious of Max’s achievements: a loving wife, an honorable job, and stability. Brooks made his wealth through a life of crime, but claimed his riches came from investments in stock. Throughout the film, everyone is affected by his bad choices and greed. The Bible warns of living such a life and the consequences it will have on others.

“The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivers from death” —Proverbs 11:3-4

While perhaps not intentional, the film does a good job of showing the consequences of greed and envy. In order to make up for the envy of his brother’s life, he sets everyone’s life in danger as the consequence of his actions surface. Envy can drive us to destructive tendencies. The most touching moment in the film comes from an act that resembles love from Brooks. He admits that his pride caused him to constantly put Max down, and proceeds to put his life at stake.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” -1 Corinthians 13:4

As long as envy and pride is present in relationships, we cannot love at the standard God holds us to. Christians, we are commanded to love our neighbors and act in a way that glorifies the Lord. We can turn to the example Christ has set for us, that he laid down his life for our sake, humbled himself to die a criminal’s death, and loved us enough to endure our pain.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” —John 15:13

How did Jesus greatly humble himself for us? Answer

What is Christian LOVE? Answer

Christ demonstrated the ultimate act of kindness for humankind on the cross, and you have the opportunity to answer. If you are wondering what it means to be a Christian and what it means to have a relationship with him, then some Christian Answers articles can help you understand!

Summary

“Game Night” features a great performance from its cast, and solid direction. The film attempts to have a positive message, but is undermined by its negative content. It is full of vulgar language and crude jokes, with a couple of laughs from clean comedy. We are spared from nudity, but are treated to explicit jokes revolving around sex. This is a Rated-R film intended strictly for adults. As a Christian, I strongly discourage fellow believers from seeing this film. We must remember to fill our minds with thoughts for edification, and be wary of content that may distract our walk with Christ.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” —Proverbs 4:23

  • Violence: Heavy
  • Profane language: Heavy—“J*sus Chr*st” (2), “J*sus” (3), “G*d-d*mn” (7), “Oh my G*d” (5), “Oh G*d” (2), “My G*d,” “d*mn” (3), “h*ll” (2)
  • Vulgar/Crude language: Extreme
  • Nudity: Minor—shirtless men
  • Sex: Heavy

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Negative
Negative—Another great example of a potentially good movie, destroyed by sexually explicit conversations, foul language, and irreverence. Really bad at the onset, tapers off toward the end, and ironically, it didn’t make the movie better, it simply denigrated what really had potential.

I DO NOT recommend it, but if you must, please spare your children.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Dennis, age 64 (USA)
Negative—I really hope you read this to the end. Ok, this has got to be one of those “wish I hadn’t heard that” movies. Normally, I only comment about the movies taking God’s name in vain, but I feel I have to comment about a scene in this movie. I hate to write this, but in case anyone is thinking about seeing this movie or allowing your children to see it, a scene in the movie during a “game night,” one of the brothers decides to talk about his younger brother’s appempts to sucks his own personal private parts. Don’t go see this movie!

We did not watch but about 30 minutes of this movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: ½
3rdcommandmentviolation, age 50 (USA)

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.

Secular Movie Critics
…a clever, trip-wired comic thriller that keeps pranking the audience… Even at 100 minutes, “Game Night” pushes its premise to the wall of synthetic escapism. Yet the movie manipulates its audience in cunning and puckish ways. It’s no big whoop, but you’re happy to have been played.
Owen Gleiberman, Variety
…McAdams, whose comedic skills have gone unsung for way too long, is dizzy fun. The whole movie is, actually, even if it pretty much evaporates on impact—a kooky, vicarious loop of Mad Libs meets Cards Against Humanity, where whoever’s holding the popcorn last wins. …
Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
…The overall results are unusually wholesome—and satisfyingly funny. “Game Night” is the kind of harmless comedy you rarely see these days, as happily entertaining as a good game of Pictionary. …
Kate Taylor, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
…heavy on double entendres… busy pummeling you with pop-culture references and final scene fake outs. It feels a bit like someone wanted to make a Coen brothers movie for the Clue crowd: Let’s call it kitschy noir. [2½/5]
Danielle White, The Austin Chronicle
…potential for a lot of fun, but only delivers some of it…
Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair
…hit-and-miss caper remains snappy, if forgettable, fun… [3/5]
Benjamin Lee, The Guardian [UK]
…one of those comedy tweeners in which the jokes that click are milked too long and jokes that don’t will take too long to confirm that. …
Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times
…The first part of “Game Night” has some fun moments, especially because of McAdams. Annie doesn’t take losing lightly, and when forced into real-life criminal acts, she gets a rush. …“Game Night” is like playing Monopoly with only the four railroads as property. The players can go through the motions, but without more elements, the overall result is good but far from great. [2½/4]
Rick Bentley, Tribune News Service
…A talented cast can’t game its way through a screenplay written for dummies. …What's most frustrating about “Game Night” is how dependent the plot is on the stupidity of the characters. Laughing at people for being dumb is an obnoxious impulse… [2/5]
Joe McGovern, Time Out New York