Film Review – Gatlopp

“Gatlopp” is very clearly modeled after “Jumanji,” with both pictures focusing on the hellraising unleashed when a mysterious board game is discovered, and eager players are ready to spend some time in heavy competition. “Jumanji” offered animal stampedes, life or death situations of survival, and constant pressure from the unknown force driving the dark magic. “Gatlopp” has heavy drinking, an enormous amount of improvisation, and pace-killing dramatics. Screenwriter/co-star Jim Mahoney (“Klaus,” “The Main Event”) tries to make something meaningful about friendship with the material, laboring to blend gameplay horrors with a serious examination of relationships. The blend doesn’t gel, leaving the feature frustratingly uneven and wildly overacted. It’s a movie about a malevolent board game, but the fun factor is severely limited by material that refuses to snowball into a madcap, constantly surprisingly good time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com