By Geno McGahee
As a huge fan of LAW & ORDER: SVU, I have become a big fan of Ice T. He fit the role on the show and brought a real grit. We see the same grit and edge in the 1994 action/thriller “SURVIVING THE GAME.” The film was made on just over seven million for a budget and basically broke even. It flew under the radar on the big screen, but it hid the video stores and had a great impact. With an all-star cast, including Charles S. Dutton, Rutger Hauer, John C. McGinley, Gary Busey and F. Murray Abraham, SURIVIVING THE GAME is an incredible film with a great story and cast perfectly. They did everything right.
Mason (Ice T) is a homeless man with many demons and is haunted by a moment in his past. He spends most of his time with his friend, Hank (Jeff Corey), as they look for food and shelter on a regular basis. After the loss of his dog and then his friend, Mason becomes overwhelmed with emotions and tries to end his life. After walking into the path of an oncoming tractor/trailer, he is pushed out of the way by church volunteer, Walter Cole (Charles S. Dutton). I have always been a fan of Dutton. He always brings such a genuine performance in any role that he has been in. He can play just about any role and I found his performance in this film as one of his best and most memorable.
Cole tells Mason that he has a job opportunity for him if he wants it. He could become a survival guide and make some serious money. He is referred to Thomas Burns (Rutger Hauer) and things go well. He is hired and will now accompany both Cole and Burns on a hunting trip with their rich friends including the psychologist that came up with this trip idea, Doc Hawkins (Gary Busey), Wolfe, SR., (F. Murray Abraham), his son Derek (William McNamara) and the angry cowboy, John Griffin (John C. McGinley). McGinley is such a great addition to this film and always delivers. He can be hilarious as he was in WILD HOGS but he can bring a dramatic side as he did here.
The group has a great meal and they begin talking about their life stories. Hawkins remembers being forced to kill his dog to become a man in his father’s eyes. Mason doesn’t seem to gel with the group very well, but he is grateful for the opportunity and goes with the flow. When he wakes up in the morning, he is greeted by the barrel of a gun in his face and the smile of Walter Cole. The game has begun and the hunting trip does not involve animals. Mason is the hunted and he will have a group of eager hunters on his tail, looking to kill him. They have done this before and they have grown a big fondness for it.
Mason turns out to be the most formidable prey they have dealt with and the hunters are slowly facing a terrible fate. At one point, he captures John Griffin, and brings him up to a cave and we start to learn how each of them tick and what their motivations are. Mason didn’t maintain a building that caught on fire and killed his wife and child. He has forever blamed himself for that event. John’s daughter was kidnapped and killed by a homeless man, making all homeless men potential suspects. Griffin needs a release and felt like killing Mason was just that. When the sat together and spoke, things changed, but not for the rest of the group.
Another protester to killing Mason is Derek. His father is desperately trying to make a man out of him and put him into the position to kill Mason, noting that “he’s a nothing.” That is the general thought of the entire group. By killing homeless people, they are ridding the world of a problem. They are getting rid of something completely useless, but Mason is different and systematically starts taking them out in a big way, leading to a showdown between Mason and Burns.
SURVIVING THE GAME is a tremendous movie. Written by Eric Bernt and directed by Ernest R. Dickerson, SURVIVING THE GAME hits every mark. It is written well, directed well and the cast is tremendous. Ice T proved that he had action star potential as he rode the fine line, having a tough exterior but a big heart at the same time. Charles S. Dutton showed his diverse game, playing the role in the beginning and being incredibly likable but, by the end, you can’t help but to hate him. Rutger Hauer, as always, knocks it out of the park. He plays evil very very well. Another notable performance was that of McGinley. He’s easy to hate initially, but he’s able to turn it around. This is a testament to the writing of Bernt. He’s able to lead the viewer in one direction, show you the surface of the character, and then show you his motivations to where you get an understanding of why they are how they are. One final credit should go to Bob Minor who played the role of a security guard at a meat plant. He played the role with such energy that I found it really enjoyable. Everything he delivered was over the top and tremendous. I wish they brought him back in this film….somewhere. Perhaps he could have been a stowaway on the plane to the woods.
I highly recommend SURVIVING THE GAME. It is one of the best movies to come out of the 1990s.
Rating: 9/10