Surviving the Game (Film Review)

1994 New Line Cinema
Directed by: Ernest R Dickerson; Written by: Fred C. Caruso
Starring: Ice-T, Rutger Hauer, Charles S. Dutton, John C. McGinley, William McNamara, Gary Busey, and F. Murray Abraham
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 96 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 6/10

Jack Mason's having a rough time. Not only is he living in the streets, but his dog's just been hit by a car, his best friend has also just up and croaked, and he's fighting suicidal grief at apparently being responsible for his wife and child's death in the recent past. But look's like his 10,000 broken mirror bad luck is changing--a feed the homeless worker not only stops him from killing himself, but offers poor, unemployed Mason a job. Before he knows it, a freshly shaved and bathed Mason is being flown out with a group of hunters to a remote North American wilderness. He's going to help with some type of hunt and get a decent wage to boot. Too bad it turns out that the type of hunt is a Jack Mason one.
Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game has been adapted as many times as a Shakespeare play. Perhaps a protagonist running for his life from hunters matches some type of universal human nightmare. Ernest R. Dickerson's modern, or modern for 1994 take doesn't add many new wrinkles, but it does boast a murderer's row of actors. The charismatic Ice-T stars as Mason, and he's hunted by none other than Best Dutch Actor of the Twentieth Century, Rutger Hauer, three-time Emmy Winner, Charles S. Dutton, Best Actor Oscar nominee, Gary Busey, John C. McGinley (how has he not won anything?!), and Best Actor Oscar winner, F. Murray Abraham.
Surviving the Game's setup is smooth and fun, with a great jazzy soundtrack by Stewart Copeland, and a sweet early 90's vibe. The actors are having a ball, particularly Gary Busey, who plays his role like an inmate on shore leave. Bojan Bazelli's cinematography is brilliant, showcasing the American wild as perhaps the most desirable location to be hunted.
Surviving the Game is a blast, and I found myself wishing "the hunters have become the hunted" tropes could go on forever, until the final act, when the film dissolves into idiocy and school film-level editing snafus. Yes, "school film," not "film school." Key shots feel like they were selected at random, characters do the stupidest, most nonsensical things possible, and the good fun of the film's first 3/4 grows incredibly stale.
Surviving the Game still works overall, even with the ridiculous final minutes, but the movie could have been a genre classic, instead of a cult one. So close, Ice-T and Busey. So close.