Game of Aces is a 2016

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

written and directed by Damien Lay, in his debut in helming a fiction feature. The film stars Chris Klein,

Victoria Summer Victoria Summer (born 15 December 1981) is an English actress, model and singer. After beginning her career in horror films, Summer transitioned into more mainstream roles starting with the Brian Herzlinger film ''How Sweet It Is''. She played ...

and

Werner Daehn Werner Daehn (born 14 October 1967) is a German actor, who has worked with Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson in '' XXX'', with Jason Priestley in ''Colditz'' an ITV1 2005 miniseries, with Bill Pullman in '' Revelations'' and with Steven Seagal in ...

whose role is as a German double-agent with all of his dialogue in German with English subtitles; Summer also speaks German for most of the film.Wright, Steven
"Game of Aces."
''Slant Magazine'', August 41, 2016. Retrieved: June 24, 2017.

Plot

In 1918, British General Rupert Graves III (

Randy Oglesby Thomas Randell Oglesby (born 1949) is an American actor, best known for his recurring role as Degra on ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. He is also known for his other ''Star Trek'' roles, including captain Trena'L in the ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' episo ...

) recruits Eleanor Morgan (

), an English nurse and translator to help locate and bring back a top German pilot who has crashed in Egypt. Morgan is teamed with Capt. Jackson Cove ( Chris Klein), an American pilot flying for the British Allied forces who will navigate to the remote crash site. Cove has been grounded due to his alcoholism leading to crashing nine aircraft. During the trek across the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, Cove and Morgan strike up an unlikely partnership as they search for Capt. Josef von Zimmerman (

), an ace who killed Cove's younger brother in aerial combat. Apparently von Zimmermann has become a traitor and is offering to give the British some valuable intelligence. When Morgan and Cove finally locate von Zimmermann, he is badly injured and suffering from amnesia. With the daunting task of getting back to Cairo ahead of them, the trio are pitted against each other in an elaborate and deadly game of deception and survival. The arrival of a German pilot in a

Fokker Dr.1 The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

triplane fighter leads to a climatic conclusion to their epic struggles. British actress, Sarah Lynn Dawson, also appears in the film as British Nurse Patricia Evans. The twist ending, hints at the possibility of a sequel.'

Cast

* Chris Klein as Captain Jackson Cove *

as Nurse Eleanor Morgan *

as Josef von Zimmermann *

as General Rupert Graves III * Sarah Lynn Dawson as Patricia Evans * Guido Foehrweisser as German Pilot * Arthur Kleinpell as Driver

Production

''Game of Aces'' is a film that reportedly cost just $500,000.Goldstein, Gary
"WWI flier drama 'Game of Aces' looks good, lacks romance."
''LA Times'', August 31, 2016. Retrieved: June 24, 2017.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

took place at the Dumont Dunes near

Death Valley National Park Death Valley National Park is an American national park that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern section of Eureka ...

, bordering

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Along with replica

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fast ...

fighters, two Fokker Dr.1 replicas were featured although one example was a crashed aircraft. The German triplane was one of the most identifiable aircraft of World War I.

Reception

''Game of Aces'' was released in select theaters on September 2, 2016.Hollwedel, Zac
"Chris Klein flies into trouble with Game of Aces."Under
''the Rader Mag'', June 24, 2017. Retrieved: June 24, 2017. Reviewers noted that the low-budget production had a gripping opening sequence but bogged down in the convoluted plot twists of the last half. Steven Wright in his review for ''Slant Magazine'', noted: "Each facet of its spare construction—only three main characters, one unified setting, and a timespan of around a day—reflects a canny, utilitarian approach to both plot and budget."

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Leaman, Paul. ''Fokker Dr.I Triplane: A World War One Legend''. Hersham, Surrey, UK: Classic Publications, 2003. .

External links

Official website
* * {{rotten-tomatoes, game_of_aces_2016 2016 films American war films American World War I films Films set in 1918 2010s German-language films World War I aviation films World War I films set in the Middle East 2010s war films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films