Elimination Games (DVD): Review

Film

In the near future, Rick Tyler (Dominic Purcell – Prison Break), a disgraced Navy SEAL, sentenced to prison for the shocking massacre of innocent women and children. Now he is offered a chance to win his freedom, in a reality television show, as part of an Elimination Game, called Turkey Shoot.

A fight in an arena, to the death, where a prisoner is the prey hunted by ruthless experts. Should this prisoner emerge victorious, they win their freedom, however as is the case with all imagining of such a scenario, the odds are heavily stacked against the unwilling participant.

Elimination Game feels a bit like a remake of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film The Running Man. A similar premise, and several similar events. Audiences to seem to have a passion for such reality games, what with the success of The Hunger Games franchise. However, whereas The Hunger Games used the games as the backdrop for a much more political story, both The Running Man and Elimination Game use them as an excuse to blow stuff up, and kill people.

This is a film for action junkies. There is unfortunately not much in the way of character development, and certainly nothing in the way of plot twists. The story is straight, and to the point; Tyler must fight his way through the levels of the game, avoid the evil schemes of the malevolent network producing the games, and somehow prove his innocence.

Action sequences are flashy, with lots of shooting, but an unfortunate lack of style. Character development is pretty non-existent, and overall the film feels like a low-budget romp with guns, even to the point of having a buxom blonde come to Tyler’s aide.

The Elimination Game is for die hard fans of guns and explosions. it is certainly not going to take much brain power to follow the story, but is bound to provide plenty of escape for viewers on a lazy afternoon.

Disc

Elimination Game is available now, to purchase on disc, in South Africa.

Video

Video is encoded at a high bitrate, with no visible artefacts on screen. Viewers with the necessary hardware or software can scale the image up to a larger or higher resolution screen, should they wish.

Audio

Audio for the title is provided via a Dolby 5.1 mix, and being of the action genre makes fair use of the surround channels to expand the on-screen action, and further draw the viewer into the action.

Navigation

Navigation is simple, with a static menu system, however it is functional and easy to use.

Features

There are sadly no bonus features on the disc, other than a few trailers at the beginning of the disc, for upcoming features and games.

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb