The Game - 1997

"Discovering the object of the game *is* the object of the game."

What makes a good thriller is tension and unpredictability and this movie has it. Michael Douglas and Sean Penn are wonderful and the twists and turns are never ending.

In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas), a financial genius and a coldhearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad (Sean Penn) -- a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.

The real Game is, more-or-less, a Ph.D. caliber scavenger hunt. It's also a team event. There is no prize money. Each team's entry fee is $25,000; limited to ten teams. All of the entry money is donated to charity. The game is actually supported by several wealthy benefactors, including Microsoft's 'Bill Gates'. Each team consists of one van full of players - usually four to six people. A series of clues, often in the form of puzzles, must be solved; each clue's answers lead to the next clue. Teams travel from clue to clue, until reaching the finish line. The winners typically take about 24 hours to finish. Often the clues are so intricate and choreographed that they approximate small theatrical productions, occasionally employing a dozen or more actors.