The Game

After almost being killed by THE GAME's operators, CRS, Nicholas calls the police to arrest them, but as they arrive at CRS's offices, he is shocked to see an empty floor where their offices used to be. He starts asking himself if The Game is actually a game. He visits the house of a girl whom he met when The Game gave him his first obstacle. After finding out she's in on The Game, they both flee from hitmen sent by CRS. While in Nicholas' cabin, she tells him that CRS has hacked into Nicholas' bank accounts and stolen all of his money, a whopping 600 million dollars. In a panic, he calls and checks on all of his accounts and is told that they're all empty. A few minutes later he realizes that he has been drugged, and as he passes out he hears the girl he was with tell him that CRS had been trying to access his accounts, but that they couldn't figure out his passwords. She tells him that when he called to check his accounts they hacked into the phone call and got the information they needed. He wakes up in a coffin in Mexico, apparently, having been left for dead. He eventually manages to get back to his house in the US and finds that it had been utterly ransacked in his absence. He walks through his destroyed home, grabs a gun he had hidden in a book, and heads downtown. He finds an employee of CRS and kidnaps them, ordering him to lead him to CRS's headquarters. Once they arrive, he finds that the woman who left him for dead in Mexico is there, takes her as a hostage and flees to the roof of the building, away from CRS's security guards. As the guards are trying the break onto the roof, he interrogates her about his stolen 600 million dollars. She tells him that the theft was not personal and that it could've been anyone with a lot of money, but as she realizes that Nicholas' gun is real she changes her story and tells him that the whole thing is his birthday present, which Nicholas refuses to believe. Suddenly, the door to the roof breaks open and Nicholas frantically shoots the first man to enter - which, ironically, is his brother, Conrad, walking with a bunch of birthday guests holding champagne. Conrad falls and dies. The guilt-ridden Nicholas, realizing his mistake, jumps off the roof in order to commit suicide, but lands on a giant mattress instead. While getting up, he finds himself inside a ball room full of guests, with his not-so-dead-after-all brother, Conrad, leading the guests in singing "Happy Birthday". Nicholas realizes that the whole experience was just a game - his brother is alive, his fortune was not touched, and everything is just fine. As Conrad and Nicholas hug, everyone cheers. The movie ends with Nicholas ditching his own party and asking the girl from CRS if she was free and would like to get a coffee.

Deliberate mistake: Every time Nicholas enters his gate at home, it's daylight and then when he drives up to the house it is night. Either he has a 300 mile property or there is something else going on. It would appear that it is deliberate as it happens many times in the film. Symbolically, Nick is leaving the world as he appears with wealth and privilege (light) and entering the real van Orton world of solitude and sadness (dark). (00:09:00 - 00:09:55)

More mistakes in The Game

Nicholas: Seymour Butts. Never get tired of that one.

More quotes from The Game

Trivia: The final party scene was filmed over a three night period at the real Palace Hotel. To save money, the same food was used all three nights, which stank up the place for days.

bobmcdow4984

More trivia for The Game

Question: Why did Nicholas react very rudely when his assistant wished him a happy birthday?

dan coakley..

Chosen answer: Nicholas' father committed suicide on his 48th birthday, something that has haunted Nicholas ever since. Nicholas himself has now reached the same birthday, putting him in a very sour mood and in no place to receive birthday wishes cordially.

Tailkinker

Answer: No, he admits to his ex-wife after 11:40pm that day that he didn't even realise he was the same age as when his father committed suicide until she just brought it up. I'm guessing he was annoyed because he was just a grumpy man and was resentful of celebrating his birthday due to the painful memories associated with his father.

I always thought he was lying or being sarcastic when he said that.

Answer: The story parallels "A Christmas Carol" with Nicholas being a modern day mirror to Ebenezer Scrooge. When wished "Merry Christmas" Ebenezer famously would say "Humbug." When wished "Happy Birthday", Nicholas is equally as unhappy with the sentiment "I don't like her" he says to his assistant.

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