Movie Stats:
Released 2012
American, in English
Directors – Matthew Arnold, Brandon Laatsch, and Freddie
Wong
Stars – A bunch of kids whose names you probably won’t
recognize, but who you may have seen in their various parts on both the big and
small screens; Zachary Levi (of “Chuck” fame); and Freddie & Jimmy Wong,
brothers and YouTube sensations.
Plot Summary:
In a world where people who excel at video games are
revered, nerdy Brian D (Josh Blaylock) is considered your typical hapless loser
until the day he accidentally scores an in-game kill against The Law (Brian
Firenzi), the most awesome player around. This lucky shot lands Brian a place at Video Game High School (the Hogwarts of this ‘verse), where he quickly falls
for the lovely Jenny Matrix (Johanna Braddy) and meets his new best friends,
Ted Wong (Jimmy Wong) and Ki Swan (Ellary Porterfield). However, life at VGHS
is fraught with danger, particularly since The Law is also there. Zachary Levi
plays Ace, a VGHS teacher, and Freddie Wong plays Freddie Wong, also a teacher
& Ted’s father.
Bad Stuff:
Consider any criticism
listed here as more like minor quibbles, because I truthfully enjoyed the heck
out of this movie.
I could see how this movie might not be accessible to a
non-gaming audience, as it uses a lot of gaming jargon and in-jokes. While I’m
not a gamer, my husband is, so I still got most of the references. On the flip
side, I could see how the movie might annoy some who are really into gaming, especially
those who take it all a bit too seriously, as it’s rather goofy &
over-the-top.
It’s pretty cheesy, but I’m 99.9% certain that was the
point.
The robot character is super annoying. Thankfully, he’s not
in it very much.
Good Stuff:
The special effects were fantastic. The other night, the
husband and I were actually watching some of Freddie Wong’s YouTube videos. At
the time, I was unaware that Wong and his video-making partner Laatsch were two
of the directors of this film. I could definitely see their influence here.
There were some great performances. I particularly enjoyed
Firenzi’s portrayal of devious villain The Law, Rocky Collins’s hilarious turn
as the Drift King, and Benji Dolly’s ultra-suave and yet ultra-trying-too-hard
Games Dean. Also, there was excellent chemistry between Blaylock & Braddy,
who I’ve heard are a real-life couple.
It was simply a lot of fun. This movie has heart and a lot
of humor. There are some great laugh-out-loud one-liners. The makers really
seemed to enjoy playing with a lot of different themes. I think we’ve all heard
how grueling movie-making can be, so I tend to like films where it seems like
everyone involved had a good time bringing the material to life.
The Verdict
I’ll admit that the plot doesn’t cover any new ground. This
is a classic underdog-makes-good story. Even so, it’s definitely not for everyone. I’ve
been reading some reviews online. It seems like most folks either love it or
hate it; there don’t seem to be a lot who feel “meh” about it. I happen to fall
into the love category. It’s not a cinematic masterpiece. It won’t be winning
any awards. However, it was far more enjoyable than most movies I’ve seen in
the last couple of months (and that includes the dreary Skyfall).
2 comments:
Isn't it weird to think how much effort goes into making movies that some people (like me!) never even hear about?
It's true. It's one of the reasons why I really enjoy instant watch. A lot of people seem to dislike the fact that it doesn't have a lot of blockbusters on it, but I appreciate that it gives people better access to indie, foreign, & less-well-known films. There are a lot of places where it's difficult to see those kinds of films in the theater - I should know, I lived in two of them in the last 4+ years.
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