Video Games: The Movie, a passion project funded partly by gamers on Kickstarter, has a great trailer. When I saw it I thought, “Wow, finally a fun documentary that the gaming culture deserves.” The four minute trailer is so great, in fact, that it outshines the actual 101 minute film. The subject material is inspiring, there is no doubt about that. The rise of a geek movement to the forefront of the world’s most important cultural forces is an amazing story. The timing is impeccable. With the next generation capabilities finally starting to be realized, the timeline Video Games: The Movie covers ends at a very bright moment in gaming history: now. The main problem of the film is that it lacks the pace and ecstatic buzz that made the trailer so exciting. The very characteristics of games that make them so appealing.
The narration, visuals, and interviews are all top notch. Lord of the Ring’s Sean Astin tells us the story of games, gamers, and gaming with his still youthful and excited voice. Flashy visuals and sequences lead us through the historical timeline of gaming. The men and women interviewed genuinely convey their love of gaming and the ins and outs of what has happened and what is to come. At the heart of the film’s message is why we all have so much love for these games. Though the message is a bit muddled and doesn’t rear its head until two-thirds of the way through the film, it’s still touching.
Certain sequences in Video Games: The Movie are fun and laughter inducing, but too many of the 101 minutes seem to sluggishly roll by. I have a great amount of patience for movies, but Video Games had me constantly checking the runtime. It’s a shame that such an amazing story didn’t in the end get the film it deserved. Just the trailer. That is the main problem of the film. It lacks the pace and ecstatic buzz that made the trailer so exciting. The very characteristics of games that make them so appealing.
Does this mean that video games and their history simply aren’t meant for the big (or small) screen just as movie adaptations of games never seem to work out? It’s possible, but I still have faith.
