This production could have been so much better. Spoiler Warning: if you haven't seen this or don't want it spoiled, stop reading here. This film is supposed to be three half-hour episodes of a reality-TV series stitched together in a marathon format, a la some of the "Cops" or "Real World" marathons that come around from time to time. This mock reality series called "The Contenders" or "Series 7" (or both?) involves 6 people, chosen at random by their "government numbers," who must kill the others in order to become the champion.
Mocking reality TV in this way could have been pretty high-concept stuff, but the execution failed to live up to the vision. The acting is so-so and the plot just doesn't seem to get there. It just sort of peters out at about 85%. The director didn't seem to be able to decide if he was going to mock reality TV, or if he was going to parody it, and that failure to decide is evident throughout. Either one would have been interesting, but the fence-straddling compromises the entire production. The director tried to include too many ideas, and at some point it just wears thin. Reality TV is such an easy mark -- even when this was still in production -- that a more subtle touch would have worked better. Frankly, for dystopian future television programs, "The Running Man" is a far more interesting and well-executed idealization, and less dated than one might think, given that it's sort of long in the tooth by now. "Delusions in Modern Primitivism" is a better mockumentary about how we are voyeurs to self-destruction.
Don't waste your time with Series 7: The Contenders. Watch "Network" or "Delusions" or "Running Man," any one of those is more satisfying.
Mocking reality TV in this way could have been pretty high-concept stuff, but the execution failed to live up to the vision. The acting is so-so and the plot just doesn't seem to get there. It just sort of peters out at about 85%. The director didn't seem to be able to decide if he was going to mock reality TV, or if he was going to parody it, and that failure to decide is evident throughout. Either one would have been interesting, but the fence-straddling compromises the entire production. The director tried to include too many ideas, and at some point it just wears thin. Reality TV is such an easy mark -- even when this was still in production -- that a more subtle touch would have worked better. Frankly, for dystopian future television programs, "The Running Man" is a far more interesting and well-executed idealization, and less dated than one might think, given that it's sort of long in the tooth by now. "Delusions in Modern Primitivism" is a better mockumentary about how we are voyeurs to self-destruction.
Don't waste your time with Series 7: The Contenders. Watch "Network" or "Delusions" or "Running Man," any one of those is more satisfying.
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