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What do you get for a man that has everything? That’s the question that Conrad (Sean Penn) is faced with when he’s picking out a birthday present for his older brother Nicholas Von Orton (Michael Douglas) who is a filthy rich investment banker with no social life. How about a gift certificate from a company called CRS (Consumer Recreation Services)? CRS creates custom games for each of its members in order to make their lives more fun and interesting. Still confused? Well so is Nicholas, but he decides to give it a try anyway.

What can be said about Michael Douglas? He’s truly an A-class actor. Douglas is a versatile artist that is able to play the wide range of emotions needed to pull off this movie, as his character transforms from being calm and cold to psychotic and angry. Sean Penn was also a good casting decision because of his over-the-top emotional acting style, which fits in perfectly into this movie. Deborah Kara Unger does a fairly good job playing a waitress named Christine who accompanies Nicholas throughout some of his adventures; although at times you wish that she’d display more emotion in certain scenes.

So the game begins with a creepy clown arriving at Nicholas’ door. Then Nicholas begins to encounter some minor, yet weird, annoyances like his suitcase not opening and a waitress dumping drinks on him. However, the minor annoyances soon escalate with his house being vandalized and a squad of hit men who try to kill him. Almost the entire movie takes place at night, which seamlessly goes along with the dark and sinister mood of the film. There is not much in terms of effects or fighting sequences since it’s more of a psychological thriller, however there is a memorable taxi ride that ends up with a plunge into the San Francisco Bay. Overall the movie is well shot and entertaining to watch from the beginning to the end.

The Game never quite declares its rules or objectives, which leaves the viewer and Nicholas wondering if object of the game is to discover the object of the game. This in hand leads us on a quest to find out what's real and what's hoax, who's telling the truth and who's lying, and most importantly why and how is Nicholas involved in this mess. However as the movie progresses Nicholas’ situation become so out of control that it becomes somewhat ridiculous. Nevertheless, one cannot help wanting to see the ultimate outcome and how everything and everyone is connected. Although this film doesn’t entirely make sense, the combination of an interesting plot, good acting, and enough brain teasers to keep you up at night makes it a movie that you should check out.