Suburban Knights

Lured by false promises, the internet reviewers find themselves summoned to suburban Illinois to embark upon a quest for a powerful gauntlet. They have to LARP in order to have a chance of finding it, which is where the second word in the title comes from, and they're split into two groups, so it doesn't grow stale. But is it entirely safe? And who is the mysterious sunglassed, leather-coat-wearing black guy who keeps appearing…? If you are not already a fan of the people involved, this is not for you, simple as that. It devotes no time to explaining who they are, and this is not produced to show off talents, but to have fun. And both they and us do. Since the trailer gives away who they choose to portray, I will do the same: Spoony is Gandalf(and the Gatecleaner, his take on Nightmare, the VHS-driven boardgame, and acts as the RPG nerd), NC is Link(from Zelda), Joe is Inigo Montoya(you killed his *insert incorrect family member here*, prepare to die!), Linkara is King Arthur, Nostalgia Chick is Arwen(Elvish princess of LOTR), Benzaie is Conan, Sage is Aslan(from Narnia), Phelous is The Rock Biter(Neverending Story), MarzGurl is Princess Mononoke, FilmBrain and Luke Mochrie are Harry Potter(the two are rivals for Doug's favor), CS is Indiana Jones, Obscurus Lupa is a fairie tale princess(probably Disney's Snow White), 8-Bit Mickey is Peter Pan, and the second size-joke of the duo has Handsome Tom as Willow(literally a small role, he doesn't want to act that much... on that, the performances vary greatly), Paw is Jeremy Irons in Dungeons and Dragons, Todd is Dread Pirate Roberts(Princess Bride) and JewWario is David Bowie from Labyrinth. This uses all of them some, no one is "forgotten", and it plays to their strengths. A lot is gained from the interpersonal dynamics of these characters and the… roles they take on. Finally, the team get into arcs! There is nice use of Mati of Captain Planet, whom none of the others like, and it builds up to its well-earned epic climax. The battles are awesome, and get increasingly grand in scope. Choreography, execution and FX are very well-done. This treats the theme of science vs. magic, and both are treated with respect(whilst they also have fun with it... similar to Charmed), and this has some of both, rational explanations and superstition. Backstory and plot are interesting, thought out well, surprising and add up well. This is paced well, the roughly two hours fly by. It has very different kinds of comedy in it, with clever, silly, wordplay, parody and pop culture references. There is some disturbing, violent and/or sexual content in this. I recommend this to every fan of the TGWTG crew, and no one else. 8/10

Suburban Knights is the second movie Channel Awesome made, and it is a definite improvement on the first one. There is a bit more of a plot, and some of the characters have greater depth than they had in the first one. Most of the humor involved is very reliant on pop culture references, but I like that humor, so I enjoyed it.

I do think you need to at least have some familiarity with the internet personalities involved in order to really be invested in this, especially Nostalgia Critic, or I can see how it would be harder to get into it.

For all of that, there is a charm to this low-budget production. It's fun to watch, and I like the humor.

What is more ironic then a an Internet movie reviewer that fails at acting, directing, comic timing, editing, special effects, regular timing, scenery, comedic events and putting two movies together for hundreds of thousands of Internet money?

Nothing.

Why these people would show off how untalented they are is beyond my imagination. I can't even grasp why any of these individuals thought it was a good idea to use their real names and be forever connected to this crap.

Maybe they are going to be Internet reviewers forever? Maybe they think this is some way to jump start their "careers" or maybe their ego is so inflated that they actually can't see how abysmal this is....

Having read a collection of reviews for this movie, I have come to the conclusion that those who gave such low marks are trying to mark this as standalone material. While yes it can be seen this way, they are never really made with the intention of that (especially when they are uploaded in parts on the TGWTG website).

So from the view point of that of a fan, this is a throughly entertaining movie, and even then you are reintroduced to the characters.

I can only say to those who mark this low; "What do you expect? It's a movie for their fans..."

There's a far more prominent narrative structure to this follow-up that surpasses its predecessor in almost every way, ranging from absurdist comic gold to brief moments of bogged down exposition. The film is at its best when it explores and brutally parodies the classic tropes of the adventure fantasy genre, from frustrating plots to ridiculous costume, and in doing so it stands not only as a harsh critic of those stories but as a charming love letter to parody as a film genre.