Nemesis Game

I saw the movie yesterday and I must say that I was impressed by the deep plot and twisted guideline. In fact you don't know the outcome 'till the last and it was so much unexpected ... very interresting movie. My recommendation - you must it !!

This is one of the movies that keeps you glued to your seat till the end by weaving too many plot webs but in the end fails miserably to provide some interesting climax. 'Nemesis Game' has a decent basic plot, taut suspense, an interesting central character... but the ending is just meaningless and thus making the whole effort very disappointing. The movie somehow reminded me of the Jude Law starred 'Existenz' but far less efficient in making a story come around. Director Jesse Warn tries hard to give it a cult look, with appropriate shooting locations, good background music,decent script etc and is aided by nice performance by Carly Pope. Yes, the riddles themselves sometimes looked easy, sometimes bizarre which leaves a mixed impression, but they were not enough to answer all the incidents happening in the film. The ending is just too 'cheap' to provide the answers. If somehow that means to keep the viewer occupied with it after watching the film, that's the big mistake. Because without good climax, any such film is instantly forgettable.

Police detective Jeff Novak (Ian McShane) is interrogating Emily Gray. Two weeks earlier, his daughter college student Sara Novak (Carly Pope) likes to solve riddles from comic book store owner Vern (Adrian Paul). Dennis Reveni (Brendan Fehr) is a spacey delivery guy. Jeremy Curran (Jay Baruchel) is a fellow college student. Sara takes part in a riddle game in the real world when it turns dangerous.

The start is a little slow and a little muddled. There is a little tension in the mystery. In the end, the finale is disappointing. The Toronto locations keep it a B-movie. Adrian Paul only adds to that sense. It doesn't really elevate above that.

"The Nemesis Game" tells of a college student, Sara (Pope), who plays a game of riddles but who can't seem to solve the riddle of her life. The film develops a pair of wispy, marginally intriguing, and converging plot lines; Sara and her riddle game and her father, a cop, and his interrogation of a murder suspect. However, as the story wears on it become more convoluted in its attempt to keep the intrigue going and more muddled in its ability to resolve the issues raised. The result is a frustrating mess with paper thin characters which wallows in it own sense of self importance while failing to deliver anything of substance finally ending with an epilogue much like the punch line of a shaggy dog story. Passable stuff only for the most hard up couch potato. (C)

What can I say? Not as bad as many here have made it out to be. The only reason I even watched this film that I had previously never heard of before, was strictly for IAN McSHANE.

I was not disappointed in the least. IAN McSHANE was absolutely brilliant and brings an amazing subtlety to his role. He's always great to watch and for my money... an extremely underused actor.

As for the rest of the film.... Every other actor in the movie delivered strong, solid performances. These people certainly weren't being paid huge amounts of cash for their participation (as this was a fairly low budget film) but this did not mean that any of them "mailed" their appearances in. Everyone was convincing and compelling with the parts given to them.

I was even pleasantly surprised at ADRIAN PAUL's performance though I must admit I have only ever seen him in the HIGHLANDER Television series before this movie.

The plot was well paced and the storyline intriguing and much like real life, not everything ends up tied in a nice neat little package for you at the end of the film. Anybody who expected a clear-cut, by-the-numbers, connect the dots "conclusion" or "answer" at the end of the movie... CLEARLY wasn't watching the film closely enough! This film is not going to tell you what the "meaning of life" is! The idea is that after seeing the film, you might go and discuss the unanswered questions with your friends over a coffee. I certainly did.

No car chases... No explosions... No bar room brawls.... (sounds pretty dull, huh?) But the reality is that I was completely absorbed by the film and it's just a well written little piece with an interesting hook and solid character performances by all parties involved.

****** WARNING...****** If you're the kind of person who dislikes movies that dangle an enormous "question" as the central engine of the story and then end the movie without answering that particular question directly...

YOU MIGHT NOT ENJOY THIS FILM.