Game Night (2018)

Game Night (2018)

2018 R 100 Minutes

Mystery | Comedy | Crime | Action

A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery.

Overall Rating

8 / 10
Verdict: Good

User Review

  • Game Night, much to my surprise, is the best American pure comedy since 'Bridesmaids'. I say "pure" just because 'The Nice Guys' was funnier but that was a cacophony of genres. Honestly though, I wasn't expecting to like this at all! Guys...I actually nearly cried with laughter at one point. What's happened to me!? A competitive couple invite their friends over for a game night where Max's more successful brother decides to host his own game night that will be "one to remember". An interactive role-playing mystery game quickly stumbles into the surreal where actually the whole scenario could be real. Think of this as a comedic version of David Fincher's 'The Game'. A rather fresh premise that seamlessly blends thrills with consistent laugh out loud moments. And boy did I laugh! An end result consisting of dark humour, the occasional unexpected twist and more film references than iMDB itself. There was a scene where I thought to myself "wow, this is like the scene from Taken 3" and I kid you not they actually say "like Liam Neeson from Taken 3?". Never felt so satisfied in all my life. The acting is nothing special, aside from Rachel McAdams who surprised me with her dialogue execution, everyone else just performed their usual comedy-selves. Y'know, Jason Bateman doing the same old thing that he does. However, it's the sharp script that elevates this above the rest. Jokes about race, unfaithfulness and wealth managed to inject personality to these characters. Adding the visual humour, like haphazardly removing a bullet from an arm and removing a blood stain from a white dog, was the Yahtzee moment so to speak. Like a game of Cluedo, the plot leaves you guessing as you try to figure out if everything is staged or not which adds to the fun of this flick. And that's exactly what Game Night is, fun. I would've liked the role-playing game to be progressed further and the third act does lose momentum with a few jokes not landing entirely. Yet, this film has taught me a valuable lesson. Roll the dice and give every film a chance, you might strike lucky and win the jackpot.