Gerard Butler’s 95-Minute Sci-Fi Disaster Hits a New Streamer

In 2027, the ever-brilliant Gerard Butler will be joined by long-time collaborator Cate Blanchett in Universal Pictures’ sequel to one of their biggest hits of last year. Earning just shy of $650 million worldwide at the box office, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake saw Butler reprise his voice role from the animated movies, alongside an all-star cast in a triumph both financially and with critics. It then became a matter of “when” and not “if” How to Train Your Dragon 2 would be confirmed, although news of a long wait until its release left some frustrated.

Butler fans needn’t worry, as his many movies are constantly rotated in the ever-turning revolving door of streaming sites. The latest of these is Gamer, an unfortunate sci-fi flop starring Butler alongside Ludacris, Terry Crews, Logan Lerman, and Michael C. Hall, with the latter in the midst of his hugely successful starring turn on Dexter. Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor — who helmed both installments in Jason Statham’s action franchise, Crank — this 2009 experiment failed to hit the mark with theatergoers, scoring just $42 million during its box office run, a figure made all the more disappointing considering the movie’s reported $50 million budget.

However, 17 years later, audiences now know that they made a mistake in their judgment of Gamer. Considered somewhat ahead of its time, considering its discussion of VR and the culture of gaming, this misunderstood sci-fi gem is much better suited to a 2026 audience. Thankfully, you can put that to the test as Gamer heads to a new streamer. Starting April 1, you’ll be able to watch Gamer on the free streaming site Plex.

‘Gamer’ Also Missed the Mark With Critics

Dubbed a “miasmic upchuck of techno sludge” by one critic, and “A hostile movie that pretends to contain some semblance of criticism toward escalating video game brutality and social detachment” by another, it’s fair to say that the response from critics to Gamer was far from positive. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the movie earned 29%, with the consensus on the site reading, “With all of the hyperkinetic action and none of the flair of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor’s earlier work, Gamer has little replay value.”

Gamer will stream on Plex this April. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.