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Game Night

9/10

Stars: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Jesse Plemons, Sharon Horgan, Billy Magnussen, Kylie Bunbury, Lamorne Morris, Michael C Hall, Danny Huston

Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein

Idiotic, but consistently funny film about a sextet of gamers, headed by the childless - but hopeful - Max (Bateman) and Annie (McAdams). Into games from charades to advanced technology, the couple and their friends (Horgan, Magnussen, Bunbury, Morris), under the watchful eye of a next-door neighbour, police detective Gary (Plemons), live for their games nights.

But when Max's scapegrace brother Brooks (Chandler) blows into town, he creams the games and then invites them to his house for a murder mystery special.

This soon proves to be all too real - or is it? - as gangsters catch up with Brooks, and Max & Co embark on a convoluted, action-strewn chase to rescue him.

Remaining consistent right to the end, the film keep you cackling and guessing at the same time, as, using their gaming skills, Max and Annie remain one step ahead of a lethal bullet. Or is it all a game? And, if so, who is pulling the strings?

Apart from wasting Huston in a nothing cameo, the film is a delight, satisfying entertainment and intellectual demands in one fell swoop, with McAdams and Plemons revealing amusingly unsuspected comedy skills. And, just for once, do stay for the scene after the credits on this one.

David Quinlan

USA 2018. UK Distributor: Warner Brothers. Colour by FotoKem.
100 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 26 Feb 2018