While it’s not taking you back to the past, DVD Dissection brings you a unique film of sorts. The minds behind the internet series, THE ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD, have released a movie about their titular character. Revolving aliens, government conspiracies, and a notorious piece of video game history, how does this stack up when the critic’s eye is on the other socket?
NOTE: This movie was viewed using the GOG.com version of the film.
The Story
Based on the hit web series, Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie follows the Nerd, a disgruntled gamer who must overcome his fear of the worst video game of all time in order to save his fans. Hilarity ensues as a simple road trip becomes an extravagant pursuit of the unexpected.
The Cast
James Rolfe as The Angry Video Game Nerd, who loves Rolling Rock and classic games, but hates bad games, one in particular he has avoided for years.
Jeremy Suarez as Cooper, the Nerd’s friend and traveling partner on his trip across the country.
Sarah Glendening as Mandi, a fan who tags along with the heroes and seems to have her own goal for the trip.
Stephen Mendel as General Dark Onward, who sets an eye on the heroes and plans to stop them before they dig too deep.
The Dissection
For those who don’t know the source material, the Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) is the main character of a series of internet review shows, where he looks at some bad video games released during the late 80s/early 90s. One of the most requested reviews he received was for the Atari 2600 game, ET, based on the Steven Spielberg movie. James Rolfe, who plays the Nerd, has teased and hinted at an eventual review, and we finally have it here, as the basis for this movie.
The movie revolves around the Nerd as he is pulled into this strange world when he attempts to downplay the legend of the ET game, with a legal-friendly name here, and finding out it’s much more than he expected. It’s an adventure movie, and you have the notes to that. You have the Nerd’s entourage and their little quirks, as well as the people they run into during the course of the trip. Similar to THE BLUES BROTHER or FAMILY VACATION, but on a much smaller scale.
Well, someone brought back the suitcase from PULP FICTION.
There was some worries over this suffering the same fate as other big projects done by internet video personalities. This, being a commercially released feature, had a higher standard attached to it, compared to other works that are just posted free online for fans to watch. However, the movie more or less pulls it off.
The film is low budget, done mostly via crowd funding. Thus, you got a lot of cheap CGI work and some dodgy special effects, with some moments of good practical effects. The movie itself knows it’s weakness, and thus slots itself under the banner of an old drive in films, ala EARTH VS THE SPIDER or other creature features.
The acting is on par with that level, with there being some goofy lines shouted out with some cheesy charm. Rolfe’s performance is similar to his performance in his internet series. He does show a lot of experience in front of the camera, though he does have some rough patches at parts.
The Nerd (Rolfe) , during an appearance at a store.
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Still, there is some room for improvment. At a runtime of nearly 2 hours, there are some scenes and moments that could have been cut down and not lose anything in the process. Also, there are some jokes that end up stopping the film to throw in a joke for the audience. Not a big issue if you are part of the audience it’s aimed at, but it can be an issue if you want to get interested in the actual premise. Also, for the build up given to it, the actual game and the story of it can come off as underwhelming by the end. However, most of those complaints seem to hing on if you were a big fan or not going into this.
The movie was originally released as a digital film, and is what this review is based on. A Blu Ray release was just released a few days ago, prior to this posting. A DVD release is also planned, and being released later. The extra list can be found here, as it promises several hours worth of extras.
The Verdict
Overall, ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE is a decent milestone for the character, held back by some rough edges and some moments that backfire. Still, if you are a fan fo the films Rolfe takes inspiration from, and have enough of an interest of the character that it would be recommended.