Armond White's "Review" of Gamer 2009

I listed to an interview with Armond White and he gushed about  the gory and vile 2009 action flick Gamer.  He also lauded the directing team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Neveldine/Taylor).  I watched Gamer more than 10 years ago and didn't think much of it and probably even thought it was just another action movie of that time that used shaky cam and quick editing to hide poorly executed shootouts.  But after listening to Mr. White's recommendation, I gave it another watch and found it to be an extremely forward thinking satire and very critical of online social media culture at a time when people were only starting to make their own Facebook accounts.

Anyways, I couldn't actually find if Armond White had written a full review of Neveldine/Taylor's Gamer, so I'm piecing together some of what he's written about it.  I might comeback through and transcribe that interview he did where he talked about it. 

Better-Than List 2009

"Crank 2: High Voltage and Gamer > Avatar

"Neveldine/Taylor, avant-garde filmmakers consigned to B-movie obscurity, are sharp stylists who satirize the responsibilities of the digital era that James Cameron turns into insipid escapism."

Armond White's review of Avatar ("Blue In the Face")

"Cameron’s seditious hero cheapens Neveldine/Taylor’s timely concept in Gamer, where modern characters took responsibility even for their avatars’ misdeeds. Invested in his own techie legend, Cameron never risks Neveldine/Taylor’s honest critique of our technological dependency—which would be to examine national values. Cameron’s deep failing as a pop artist lies in the fact that, unlike the avant-garde Neveldine/Taylor team, he’s a techno-geek who conflates mindless sentimentality with meaning."