This is one of the movies that keeps you glued to your seat till the end by weaving too many plot webs but in the end fails miserably to provide some interesting climax. 'Nemesis Game' has a decent basic plot, taut suspense, an interesting central character... but the ending is just meaningless and thus making the whole effort very disappointing. The movie somehow reminded me of the Jude Law starred 'Existenz' but far less efficient in making a story come around. Director Jesse Warn tries hard to give it a cult look, with appropriate shooting locations, good background music,decent script etc and is aided by nice performance by Carly Pope. Yes, the riddles themselves sometimes looked easy, sometimes bizarre which leaves a mixed impression, but they were not enough to answer all the incidents happening in the film. The ending is just too 'cheap' to provide the answers. If somehow that means to keep the viewer occupied with it after watching the film, that's the big mistake. Because without good climax, any such film is instantly forgettable.
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shanfloyd16 April 2005
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mats_rockingdom2 January 2005The idea of this film is extremely clever which I love. I like films that make you think and confuse you which this does. So I was enjoying the film throughout. Knowing it was roughly 90 mins long I found myself watching the clock thinking "Hey! There isn't much time to tie up all these loose ends! Hurry Up Man!" I was so looking forward to the ending but then... there wasn't one. It was like they ran out of funding and then decided to end the film with framed narratives. HUGELY DISAPPOINTING! Don't get me wrong. You need to watch this movie just so you get what I am talking about but the bottom line is: All the things that are interesting in the film, and all the things that you can;t wait to come together somewhere, Are ruined by the fact that they don't. You expect so much from the ideas and concepts that your just tearing your hair out screaming "What? Where's the rest of the film???"
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"The Nemesis Game" tells of a college student, Sara (Pope), who plays a game of riddles but who can't seem to solve the riddle of her life. The film develops a pair of wispy, marginally intriguing, and converging plot lines; Sara and her riddle game and her father, a cop, and his interrogation of a murder suspect. However, as the story wears on it become more convoluted in its attempt to keep the intrigue going and more muddled in its ability to resolve the issues raised. The result is a frustrating mess with paper thin characters which wallows in it own sense of self importance while failing to deliver anything of substance finally ending with an epilogue much like the punch line of a shaggy dog story. Passable stuff only for the most hard up couch potato. (C)
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immortal742059 December 2003I originally rented this direct-to-video film because it stars one of my favorite actors (Adrian Paul). I expected this cheesy boring film that would be average. Instead what I found was a movie that kept me guessing until the very end. The film has a superb ending and good acting all the way around. Sarah Novak is a fan of riddles. When she stumbles across a game where riddle after riddle are solved for fun, she gets herself in over her head when the game turns deadly. The 'Nemesis Game' as it comes to be called is supposed to end with one final riddle. If the player gets the riddle correct and writes the answer on the wall, then they are shown 'the design' of the game; a design that is supposed to make them insane. I know, I know the story sounds weird and stupid. But I assure you this is a fabulous film. It opens kind of slow but you must give it a chance to get going. Once it does, it doesn't let go. This very unique plot and inventive ending leave you wanting to know more of story at the end. At the end it leaves you saying 'wow.' This film is highly recommended.
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Thorsten-Krings20 March 2007The film starts off pretty well. It's fast paced, well directed and creates suspense. Unfortunately it has the same problem as the Michael Douglas vehicle "The Game" where suspense is created through impossible situations for which there can be no satisfactory explanation. It's the same thing here: after about 90% of the film writer and director seem to have noticed that they need an end and so they come up with one too quickly; considering the built up the end is an anti climax. But what is worse is the fact that it does not make any sense whatsoever which I find plainly very annoying. So all in all I think there is a lot of talent wasted in this film: great actors and a gifted director but nothing comes of it. So in spite of the brilliance of 90% of the film it's not worth watching.
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(This commentary entails revealing parts about the film or Spoilers)
I though that this movie was a very unassuming and well-done suspense and drama rolled into one. (Pun intended) It had great acting the characters didn't try to oversell their persona like perhaps would be done on a more financially equipped film but on the same note they did just open with the plot like one would assume a B rated movie would.
you definitely wanted to keep watching and find out how the loose melange of subplots would unite, and find out what precisely was the meaning of The 'Design'. Unfortunately you don't the end seems to be more complicated than when you began watching. It wasn't as if the end were open to interpretation. It just simply ended at an arbitrary point. Your left thinking I did all that work for nothing. Don't misinterpret me, you did work solving puzzles and jumping over plot holes but it wasn't laborious.
It was a good movie but I don't think I could be prevailed upon to watch it again one time is enough. You are not going to understand it any more if you watched it twice. -
berrorg27 June 2007This movie had a very unique effect on me: it stalled my realization that this movie REALLY sucks! It is disguised as a "thinker's film" in the likes of Memento and other jewels like that, but at the end, and even after a few minutes, you come to realize that this is nothing but utter pretentious cr4p. Probably written by some collage student with friends to compassionate to tell him that his writing sucks. The whole idea is I don't even know if it tried to scratch on the supernatural, or they want us to believe that because someone fills your mind (a very weak one, btw) with stupid "riddles", the kind you learn on elementary school recess, you suddenly come to the "one truth" about everything, then you have to kill someone and confess . !!! What? How, what, why, WHY? Is just like saying that to make a cake, just throw a bunch of ingredients, and add water forgot about cooking it? I guess these guys forgot to, not explain, but present the mechanism of WHY was this happening? You have to do that when you present a story which normal, everyday acts (lie solving riddle rhymes) start to have an abnormal effect on people. Acting was horrible, with that girl always trying to look cute at the camera, and the guy from Highlanders, the series, acting up like the though heavy metal record store (yeah, they're all real though s-o-b's). The "menacing" atmosphere, with the "oh-so-clever" riddles (enter the 60's series of Batman and Robin, with guest appearance of The Riddle) and the crazies who claim to have "the knowledge" behind that smirk on their faces just horrible, HORRIBLE.
I'm usually very partial about low budget movies, and tend to root for the underdog by giving them more praise than they may deserve, in lieu of their constrictions, you know, but this is just an ugly excuse for a movie that will keep you wanting to be good for an hour and a half, and at the end you will just lament that you fell for it. -
PORGISH12 July 2006What can I say? Not as bad as many here have made it out to be. The only reason I even watched this film that I had previously never heard of before, was strictly for IAN McSHANE.
I was not disappointed in the least. IAN McSHANE was absolutely brilliant and brings an amazing subtlety to his role. He's always great to watch and for my money... an extremely underused actor.
As for the rest of the film.... Every other actor in the movie delivered strong, solid performances. These people certainly weren't being paid huge amounts of cash for their participation (as this was a fairly low budget film) but this did not mean that any of them "mailed" their appearances in. Everyone was convincing and compelling with the parts given to them.
I was even pleasantly surprised at ADRIAN PAUL's performance though I must admit I have only ever seen him in the HIGHLANDER Television series before this movie.
The plot was well paced and the storyline intriguing and much like real life, not everything ends up tied in a nice neat little package for you at the end of the film. Anybody who expected a clear-cut, by-the-numbers, connect the dots "conclusion" or "answer" at the end of the movie... CLEARLY wasn't watching the film closely enough! This film is not going to tell you what the "meaning of life" is! The idea is that after seeing the film, you might go and discuss the unanswered questions with your friends over a coffee. I certainly did.
No car chases... No explosions... No bar room brawls.... (sounds pretty dull, huh?) But the reality is that I was completely absorbed by the film and it's just a well written little piece with an interesting hook and solid character performances by all parties involved.
****** WARNING...****** If you're the kind of person who dislikes movies that dangle an enormous "question" as the central engine of the story and then end the movie without answering that particular question directly...
YOU MIGHT NOT ENJOY THIS FILM. -
Boba_Fett113822 October 2010This movie tries to be a clever one but it does this by not making any sense at all.
This is really one pointless movie to watch because it just isn't heading anywhere with its story. There is no tension or mystery because everything in this movie seems so incredibly stupid and pointless. The entire idea behind the concept of this movie is that once you have solved enough certain riddles you will get to see the entire pattern and meaning of life. Guess this is something that could had still worked out, if the movie had only truly been a clever one.
The riddles in this movie instead feel so utterly pointless and on top of that are also quite stupid ones. Further more it really doesn't become apparent in this movie how solving these riddles will get you anywhere. OK so you read a name when you write down a sentence on a piece of paper and hold it against a mirror. Great...now what? Seriously, this stuff is going nowhere and in the long run nothing in it makes really sense, since the movie simply doesn't bother to explain very much. It just thinks that it's enough to confuse its viewer and to present it with difficult riddles, that however serve no purpose for the movie at all it seems because the movie really doesn't provide much back-story for anything at all.
It's a real problem with this movie that it sees itself as a clever one. It takes itself very serious, which just seemed like a stupid move, considering its simplistic story. It also makes all of the actions from the characters seem like very unlikely ones. Everybody in this movie is behaving as if solving some riddles written on a wall somewhere is the most important thing in the world and needs to get done, regardless of any danger or foul play involved with it.
Yes, I really hated this movie because of its approach and story. I just didn't got anything out of this movie while watching. It would had been better, or at least more interesting, to me if the movie actually had a a big mystery to be solved in it, like the disappearances of something or someone or a murderer that needs to be stopped. That way the story the story and all of its riddles could had more of served a purpose for the entire movie. Instead now the movie seems like a real pointless one but above all things also a terribly uninteresting one.
Yes, the movie definitely did still showed some potential but it basically all gets wasted as the movie moves along, despite the actor's hard efforts to still make something good out of it all.
Nothing interesting, tense or mysterious to be found here. Just some pointless, simplistic drivel about solving some silly riddles.
3/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/ -
lilpeachgrl036 February 2005This movie is like a philosophical thing, and could be psychological as well. Many people after seeing the movie could really hate it or totally love it. It is a challenge to the audience. You either get it or not. Storyline is complex but overall is quite interesting and different from most movie cliché or storyline.
I was pretty disappointed by the ending but in a way is a good ending. And if every movie solve everything for you or make a typical ending, than that would be boring.
Every movie has its flaws depending on how you look at it. The character I think did a good job, not bad. Story does get confusing if you don't play close attention. I suggest re watch it. -
I think the biggest problem with this movie is it seems to want you think that this is a deep movie, when in reality it is just a lazy, poorly developed movie. The acting is average and the characters aren't particularly compelling and fairly forgettable. There's a girl who lost her mother in a car accident who after exploring a hobby of subway riddle solving, finds herself in the midst of some sort of riddle solving cult and gets herself killed.
I'm not sure what the makers were expecting, for me to be watching this with a notebook and jotting down notes to piece this story together. I did find myself rewinding parts of the movie, not for this reason, but because some parts were barely audible. The crazy cult leader lady I could barely hear what she was saying. I understand they want to make it sound dramatic when she tells the line about it all being a part of the design, but the mixing job on this was less than stellar.
I'm not sure what philosophical point they were trying to make or even if there was one to be made. Are they advocating some sort of predetermined fatalism? Are they all deranged nihilists?
If you are looking for a deep intellectual movie, this is not the movie for you. If you are looking for a movie for people who think they know a deep intellectual movie then maybe you might enjoy this one. -
nomadicpoet31 May 2004Nemesis Game is a mind-bending film filled with riddles, death, mystery, and philosophy. In it's simplest sense the film is about seeking answers and what happens when you've finally found them all. The search for answers leads Sarah Novak down a path that gets darker as it gets more compelling. The final answer seems more dangerous than it is worth, yet Sarah is so close to understanding it all. What would you do if you were offered the ability to finally make sense of the chaos of life?
The movie was written and directed by Jesse Warn. While this was Warn's first feature length film, the movie doesn't reflect that at all, but instead shows polish and an artistic approach to telling the story. Carly Pope was powerful in the lead role and showed a depth of complexity that was fascinating to watch. I would definitely love to see more of her work.
Being based on riddles, this is a very cerebral movie. It's that's your thing, as it is mine, then I totally recommend seeing Nemesis Game. Rating: 4.5/5 -
misterx1323 October 2003To summerize this movie: nice for TV but too small for the theatre. I enjoyed watching this movie at home but I wont watch it a second time. The concept is good, but what ends up in the movie is just a summary. The end had a 'nice' twist but is still unsatisfying. Maybe it was the intention of the director but it wasn't worked out like a it should be. But then again, it's an OK kind of movie.
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SnoopyStyle24 April 2017Police detective Jeff Novak (Ian McShane) is interrogating Emily Gray. Two weeks earlier, his daughter college student Sara Novak (Carly Pope) likes to solve riddles from comic book store owner Vern (Adrian Paul). Dennis Reveni (Brendan Fehr) is a spacey delivery guy. Jeremy Curran (Jay Baruchel) is a fellow college student. Sara takes part in a riddle game in the real world when it turns dangerous.
The start is a little slow and a little muddled. There is a little tension in the mystery. In the end, the finale is disappointing. The Toronto locations keep it a B-movie. Adrian Paul only adds to that sense. It doesn't really elevate above that. -
Enochian10 October 2003Ok.. here's a short synopsis of the movie : Sara Novak (Carly Pope) is a college girl who's into riddles. She 'plays' riddle games with Vern (Adrian Paul), a shopkeeper, in a scavenger hunt type thing, where solving one riddle will lead to another one. But both of them (separately) get an 'invitation' to play a series of riddles, (usually spray painted on subways for Sara, and on his shop windows/websites for Adrian) which, once solved will reveal the 'design' supposedly explaining why things in life are the way they are i.e. the meaning of life. There are a couple of murders along the way and the whole thing meanders to a climax which is more predictable than my mother-in-law's christmas dinner. Of course by this time, you are so numb thanks to the insipid acting and the stupid plot, that you have lost the will to live and dont care anymore. I have seen a lot of silly movies in my life (unfortunately) and this one deserves to be right on top of the list with the others. The riddles are so ridiculous that even my 5 year-old nephew could have solved them after taking a look. What I would indeed like to know who finances these things. I have a couple of movie ideas about talking chipmunks involved in industrial espionage that I'd like to run past them. In short : Do not watch this movie at all costs!!
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boyinflares11 December 2005Four things intrigued me as to this film - firstly, it stars Carly Pope (of "Popular" fame), who is always a pleasure to watch. Secdonly, it features brilliant New Zealand actress Rena Owen. Thirdly, it is filmed in association with the New Zealand Film Commission. Fourthly, a friend recommended it to me. However, I was utterly disappointed. The whole storyline is absurd and complicated, with very little resolution. Pope's acting is fine, but Owen is unfortunately under-used. The other actors and actresses are all okay, but I am unfamiliar with them all. Aside from the nice riddles which are littered throughout the movie (and Pope and Owen), this film isn't very good. So the moral of the story is...don't watch it unless you really want to.
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sofiepeterson17 April 2011If this movie would have had another ending, it could easily have gotten a much higher vote from me. Being a movie I had not heard of before but just happened to stumble across, I had no expectations prior to watching it. And except for the last 10 minutes or so, it kept me focused and interested. I love this kind of plots, that includes riddles and clues which gives the person watching the movie, abit of a challenge. But unfortunately they didn't manage to make a good ending, that explained it all in a brilliant way, that made sense of the whole movie. Instead the ending destroyed the entire film. When they build up a plot, they've got to deliver an answer that's reasonable and explains everything that's happened up till that point. But when they fail to do so and just give us an ending with even more questions, it's very disappointing. I would like to advice the ppl responsible for this movie to remake the last 10 minutes and do it better this time.
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ofjeworstlust31 January 2004This movie has the atmosphere, music and light of something in between Signs, 6th sense, Seven. Mystery, riddles, questions, death, murder.
It nevers bores you for a second and keeps on going like a book, that you don't want to close before you've read it completely. [POSSIBLE SPOILER]
At the end you'd expect an explanation of why the riddles, why the deaths, why this trouble and perhaps even the answer to the question in this movie: the reason to live. That spoiled my feelings about this movie; a definite open end, no understanding whatsoever, just the knowledge of who's behind all this. If you don't expect much of the plot, perhaps it won't disappoint. -
dmann-628491 August 2022I stumbled on this movie on a streaming service and found it intriguing, though with some flaws. Without giving away too many spoilers, it's about Carly Pope's character Sara Novak becoming obsessed with a riddle game combined with a sort of treasure hunt, where riddles written in blue paint lead to some sort of "design" that explains everything. She's a university student in Toronto - a real Toronto, not the ersatz one that subs in for Chicago or New York in other films shot in Canada because of lower costs - though this film is a New Zealand-Canada co-production, with the interiors presumably shot in New Zealand.
It's a very low-key drama with pretensions to telling its audience the meaning of life. It was interesting to see a more analogue version of Toronto (and apparently Hamilton's McMaster University) from about 20 years ago - the grimy subway without digital billboards, a university lecture with overhead projectors and students writing in notebooks, a comics-video shop where Adrian Paul's Vern works full of VHS tapes - it seems like another world, even though it's only a flyspeck away in time.
The main mystery is a bit wonky, and too often the characters stumble into things that a wiser person would avoid, though on the other hand the tricky riddles are solved a bit two easily for my taste. It has a certain intelligence.
Ian McShane is the best thing in the movie in the role of Pope's father; Adrian Paul struggles with a flat American accent, though is suitably enigmatic; Jay Baruchel provides some mild comedic relief as a creepy fellow student who is after Sara; while Rena Owen has a small role as a disturbed killer just out of jail. All in all, a slow burn, suitable for a quiet Sunday night if you have nothing pressing to do. -
maroonandwhite93-scramble11 January 2005too bad this movie isn't. While "Nemesis Game" is mildly entertaining, I found it hard to suspend my disbelief the whole length of the movie, especially the situations that Sara was putting herself into. Are we supposed to believe that:
1) this hot chick is going to go slumming unarmed around abandoned buildings and dark subway tunnels in the middle of the night just to solve some riddles?
2) the protagonists are supposedly such experts that they play riddle games for fun, but don't put the whole "I Never Sinned" riddle together until the very end...and then...and then...get this...she has to do the whole mirror thing to finally put the pieces together?? I know it was the filmmaker's device to show the audience what was going on, but do they really think we're that stupid?
3) when Vern and Sara go to the Chez M to question the blonde, there is not ONE topless chick in the whole building. Nada. C'mon. I know it's Canada, but I would expect more from a country that gave us Shannon Tweed.
And anyone else notice that when Vern was surfing the Web and found that riddlezone site, that when he moused over the link the cursor stayed an arrow, and didn't turn into a little hand (LIKE ALL CURSORS DO WHEN YOU CLICK ON A HYPERLINK)?!? I mean, if you're gonna have the internet play such a prominent role in your movie, at least get the little things right. Geez. -
I would guess that the positive comments thus far are from the minority of voters who voted over 6 out of 10. My advice - take the average rating of about 5 out of 10 as a hint that the movie is really not worth watching. I found the movie rather tedious with a poor script and nothing to keep me wanting to watch it at all. I found myself fast-forwarding through several bits of it before finally giving it up as a lost cause and seeking bed instead. I also kept wishing Carly Pope would close her mouth and not look like she'd just stepped out of a hair salon. The whole movie seems unstructured and messy. A strange Canadian movie with a British and New Zealand actor, I really couldn't be bothered persevering with it. Not worth it.
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a_birtch15 October 2005It could be easy to complain about the quality of this movie (you don't have to throw cartloads of money at a movie to make it good, nor will it guarantee that it is worth watching) but I think that is totally missing the point. If your expecting fast cars, T&A or a movie that will spell itself out for you then don't watch this, you'll be disappointed and dumbfounded.
This movie was thoroughly enjoyable, kept us on the edge of our seats and made us really think. The writer obviously put a lot of thought and research behind this movie and it shows through the end, just remember to keep an open mind.
Note: the school scenes were all filmed at McMaster University and most of the rest was done in Toronto. -
esvns25 October 2003Never ever take a film just for its good looking title.
Although it all starts well, the film suffers the same imperfections you see in B-films. Its like at a certain moment the writer does not any more how to end the film, so he ends it in a way nobody suspects it thinking this way he is ingenious.
A film to be listed on top of the garbage list. -
vchimpanzee26 October 2006At the start of the movie, Det. Jeff Novak is trying to get Emily Gray, who did time for trying to drown a boy, to confess to another crime. All she will do is talk in riddles.
After that, we see Dennis and Vern, two weeks earlier, talking about the meaning of life in Vern's store, which sells merchandise that appeals to heavy metal and alternative rock fans.
Then we see a like-new 1966 Ford pickup being driven through the dark, wet streets of an unidentified large city (Toronto University is mentioned). Sara is then given the first of several clues that she needs to solve a mystery (while being timed) as she explores a section of town she probably shouldn't be in after dark.
Sara, the detective's daughter, is in college, but her father feels she is not reaching her potential. Jeremy and Marie are in her philosophy class. Jeremy would like to date Sara, but she would rather not. Jeremy is persistent, and he says he knows her secret--she drives to school but takes the subway home.
When she gets on the subway, Sara sees riddles written in blue, mostly on the walls. The mystery author of the riddles is behaving in the same way as the mythological character Nemesis (not the Nemesis of Greek mythology, though--she is female, and the pictures and stories in this movie seem to be of a man; to the ancient Greeks, The Sphinx was responsible for riddles).
The game becomes a life-and-death situation after a murder.
This movie is darker than what I generally would watch. Sara was appealing, though, and sort of pretty. My biggest incentive to watch was Jay Baruchel, who was a teenage lawyer in "Just Legal", a fine series not given enough of a chance. I liked him better on the TV series, but that doesn't mean he wasn't good here. I thought most of the acting was well done, and this seemed intelligently written, even if the myth of Nemesis seemed to be invented. at least I didn't find anything on this character.
The mystery was interesting, though the ending was somewhat shocking. There was more tension than real excitement. There wasn't too much violence.
It wasn't my taste, but it should appeal to those who like darker movies. -
Cemetarygirl15 May 2008I was looking forward to this movie. Trustworthy actors, interesting plot. Great atmosphere then ????? IF you are going to attempt something that is meant to encapsulate the meaning of life. First. Know it. OK I did not expect the directors or writers to actually know the meaning but I thought they may have offered crumbs to peck at and treats to add fuel to the fire-Which! they almost did. Things I didn't get. A woman wandering around in dark places and lonely car parks alone-oblivious to the consequences. Great riddles that fell by the wayside. The promise of the knowledge therein contained by the original so-called criminal. I had no problem with the budget and enjoyed the suspense. I understood and can wax lyrical about the fool and found Adrian Pauls role crucial and penetrating and then ????? Basically the story line and the script where good up to a point and that point was the last 10 minutes or so. What? Run out of ideas! Such a pity that this movie had to let us down so badly. It may not comprehend the meaning and I really did not expect the writers to understand it but I was hoping for an intellectual, if not spiritual ride and got a bump in the road