“We see America for what it is because we’re outsiders.”
– Sam Houser, Rockstar Games

The Gamechangers uses a pivotal time in the history of video games to deliver a curious character study and comparison between two different people. The focal point is the ‘battle’ that occurred following the release of the groundbreaking and controversial Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and the follow-up Grand Theft Auto: Sand Andreas.

Pass me some gravitas…

The videogame business offers up Daniel Radcliffe as head of Rockstar Games and Producer on the GTA series, Sam Houser. Facing him is Bill Paxton (who couldn’t have been more wooden if he was carrying a can of Cuprinol).

Paxton plays the part of campaigning lawyer Jack Thompson, who attempts to represent the recently bereaved families of three police officers in litigation against Rockstar Games and their parent company, Take-Two Interactive. The reason for his ‘no win, no fee’ approach is that they were killed by a young man named Devin Moore. Brought in for car theft, he shot his way out of the police station and attempted to escape in a stolen squad car.

When he was apprehended, he compared life to a videogame, and had played Vice City. That allowed Thompson to argue that Moore’s crimes were a direct result of playing GTA:Vice City

Thompson believed that GTA gave Moore direct inspiration to commit the actions he performed in the game. Just in case we are in any doubt about the parallels, visiting Moore, Thompson quotes the young man’s chillingly detached words: “Life is like a video game – you’ve got to die some time.”

Meanwhile at Rockstar Games, Houser is keen to get his burnt-out staff kick-started on another GTA title – only this time with more violence, realism and titillation. Plus some RPG bits!

A sidelined debate…

Even in the early 2000s, the debate on the link between video game violence and real-life murder was hardly new. However, this case (Strickland vs Sony) is significant in pop culture history. It was the first time a huge lawsuit had been filed against a video game developer for direct causation between a game and what, in this case, was the tragic deaths of three police officers.

“Come on, guys – we want full-on sex and RPG customisation… but no hairy elves!”
– Sam Houser, Rockstar Games

The Gamechangers could have really delved into the arguments surrounding videogames and violence. Instead the focus turned to the motivations behind Houser and Thompson’s actions and increasing opposition. This might have been interesting, had it not been for the unfortunately lacklustre script and one-dimensional performances. In the end, we never really learn much of interest.

In the case of Sam Houser (Radcliffe), at one point he is shown musing and desperately striving to find artistic credibility as he simultaneously commissions the next installment in his porn and murder simulator.

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Meanwhile, Jack Thompson (Paxton) becomes increasingly lost in what he believes is his moral crusade to save Society from the evils of ‘depraved’ video games – focussing all of his efforts on Rockstar and the GTA series. Although it is already pretty clear that Thompson is an outlandish individual consumed by extreme views of modern culture, we fail to really understand his motivations due to the script’s insistence in painting him as an absurd, clown-like figure consumed by self-importance.

If anything can be gained from these scenes, it is little more than a contrast of motivations – the money-centred free-for-all of Houser’s work played off against Thompson’s judgement-fuelled willingness to combine or confuse correlation and causation.

Things fall apart…

Ultimately, instead of being an interesting, dramatic and engaging portrayal of a key area of games culture and its history, The Gamechangers stumbles with character issues and script inconsistencies. While it’s nice to see the discovery of the ‘Hot Coffee Mod’ in Holland, it feels like an unnecessary filler to spend so much time following PatrickW.

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Add poor dialogue and unconvincing lead performances  lacking in so many areas, and the sum is no more than its parts.

Far too often, I genuinely cringed in reaction to events such as these:

• When Jack Thompson declares himself the messianic saviour of decent, ordinary folk and promises to rescue them from the depravity of “these violent video games”. I felt like I was transported to some nightmare, B-movie dystopia!
• When Radcliffe, dressed like he’s acting in a pantomime version of Boyz n the Hood, meets a gang member and they bond over the guy’s love of GTA. This felt far too contrived.
• Radcliffe’s petulant outbursts failed to carry any weight. They sounded like the rantings of a frustrated man-child who desperately wants to appear like his uncompromising attitude is the only way to propel the company up to a higher level. Assertion and aggression are not the same thing and it didn’t look like his staff were impressed by these outbursts either.
• The depiction of the San Andreas ‘crunch’ period ended up looking like a bad 1990’s pop video. I half expected Natalie Imbruglia to show up at one point and ask where she left her oversized jumper.
• What was going on with Sam’s beard? Aside from looking like it had been stuck on, it also looked ready to audition for a role in The Hobbit.
• “We need a new game engine!”
  (New scene) “Here’s our new game engine!” Continuity guys, please?

You got me…

In truth, there were moments in The Gamechangers when it felt that things were heading in a genuinely interesting direction.

Early on, it seemed that the producers had gone to great lengths to capture the zeitgeist of the period and give the show a sense of time and place. Framing shots of Houser and Thompson seeking each other out via on-line searches reminded me of some modern day, digital version of a Wild West pursuit (minus the air of menace and true drama!).

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There were some genuinely fine performances within the film, including that of Jack Thompson’s wife (Fiona Ramsay). Despite Patricia Thompson having a tendency to sound like a living, breathing version of ‘101 Inspirational Quotes’, the role was carried with conviction. Also, Joe Dempsie as Jamie King deserves praise both in the honest way he stood as the counterpoint to Sam Houser’s crazed pursuit of “mainstream plus artistic success” and also because he seemed to be one of the few completely realised characters in the piece.

Although…

The Gamechangers was a valiant attempt to draw a reference point around an interesting subject at a time when the debate it raises is still very relevant and in the media spotlight. Sadly, it ended up being way off the mark in so many ways – mostly because of a poor script and the failure of Daniel Radcliffe and others to appear convincing and believable in lead roles. Something I almost feel bad about.

Almost but… not quite.

The Gamechangers starred Daniel Radcliffe, Bill Paxton, Joe Dempsie and Fiona Ramsay. It was first broadcast on 15th September on BBC2 and is available on iPlayer until 15th October.

Grand Theft Auto poster adapted from an image at gta.wikia.com and used under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA.