Knights of Badassdom

Rarely do immature comedies get approval or good ratings. There are a few: Dumb and Dumber or There's Something About Mary….or anyone of Will Farrell's movies. But perhaps viewers take themselves too seriously. This film is centered around a LARP (live action role-playing game) battleground where characters do often take themselves seriously in some sense. Often costumes are makeshift and battle scenes are amateurish. Authenticity is mixed since imagination takes precedence. The movie takes the same approach, hence, the goofy dragon and monster from hell. Peter Dinklage as Hung is a fun, atypical hero and Summer Glau is slinky as Gwen (isn't every medieval female lead named Gwen, short for Guinevere?). Watch it for fun, light humor. It is funny, geeky and goofy. The subtitles are cute/creative, direction is average, acting is average (actors usually shouting), script is good at times, flat at other times and some gag just doesn't work. It's a slightly above average comedy but you have to appreciate the geekiness and lightness of the film. I'd give it a 6.2-6.3 rating…round off to a 7 just to counter the critics. Just unserious fun to bring a smile and chuckle but maybe not for everyone.

I thought I would watch 5 minutes and then turn it off, ended up watching the whole thing. It was a very odd movie overall, and probably takes the right mindset to enjoy. Basically take a movie with the plot described, but written by high schoolers. Then give them some decent actors, a decent director and a decent film crew. Then have the high schoolers make sure they include the "good" stuff and you pretty much have this movie. So it is a weird hodge podge of decent B-movie, with some A-actors, and a high school film project. I enjoyed it, even if it wasn't great and at times pretty uneven. BTW there is quite a bit of blood and gore, but it isn't super graphic despite that.

OK, if you were expecting Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones.... did you even watch the trailer? This was meant to be on the same level as Army of darkness (Good ol' Bruce) and Role Models. I find most of the complaints of the other reviewers shine more negative light on them than the movie.

Why do the rednecks hate the nerds? If you've made it to middle school, you already know the answer to this question. And yet someone presented this as if it was a major plot hole. :roll: Why does the one nerd know a dead language? If you know any nerds, you know the answer to this question. Most the reviewers here seem to be more "nerdy" than any of the "nerds" in the film.

In the end, most of the "flaws" the other reviewers complain of fall into these two categories: A) you didn't realize its SUPPOSED to be a B-flick or B) you're playing dumb to miss the obvious social interactions that most people live with from grade school on up.

Now, for the movie itself: yes the effects are B level. And not bad, if you expect that. The plot is kinda simple. Not only is that normal for a B flick, and indie films on the whole, there isn't too much you can do in a film thats supposed to cover a weekend. you get enough "character development" to care who dies, and not much more. "Gone with the Wind" this ain't, nor was it intended to be. Dinkle had to shoot this during the short break from his real gig. Many of the others had similar constraints.

If you want a funny, Saturday afternoon waster, this is great. Its even better if you LARP or some sort of reenactor, and can point out people you know like (X).

If you enjoyed "Zero Charisma" then chances are that you will also like "Knights of Badassdom". And, of course, if you are a super geeky LARP enthusiast, then you will definitely enjoy this movie. As a player of Dungeons & Dragons, but with no possible interest or understanding in the LARP thing, then I still found the movie to be enjoyable.

The story is about a bunch of geeks coming together in the forest for a weekend endeavor of LARP (Live Action Role-Playing) when an in-game sorcerer accidentally unleashes a succubus into the mortal world. Things quickly turn bloody and foam-weapons need to be exchanged for steel.

There are some really fun and inside references to everything nerdy in aspects of being a roleplaying game enthusiast; such as the Manowar and King Diamond references. Not to mention the namedropping of various monsters and races from the Monster Manual. Those who play D&D will surely pick up on those throughout the movie.

Despite the movie's budget, then director Joe Lynch actually managed to put together a fun and enjoyable movie. The storyline was geeky, yes, but it was nice and fun to watch. And despite the nerdy geekness, then the storyline was actually very entertaining.

It should also be said that the movie had some nice talents to it, and people did great jobs with their given roles and characters (in every sense of the word). And the actors and actresses really helped the movie along quite nicely.

The effects in the movie were quite alright as well, and the demonic version of the succubus was actually quite cool, looking like something of a mixture between (and here comes one of those things only RPG nerds will understand) Tanar'ri, Baatezu and a gremlin from the "Gremlins" movies.

"Knights of Badassdom" is well worth watching if you are into roleplaying games, LARPing, or if you just had a geeky nerd hidden somewhere in your heart.

As much as I detest LARPing, then I tried not to let that color my impression of the movie. For its entertainment value, then I am rating "Knights of Badassdom" 6 out of 10 stars.

It's not as bad as some of the reviews make it out. But you do have to be a geek at heart.

You don't have to be a LARPer necessarily, but you do have to know a little about the culture. There are a lot of jokes and references that if you know nothing about roll play, LARP or just general geekdom, they will pass you by.

So yeah its not for everyone, but it is funny and the actors all put in exceptional performances for what it is.

It's not meant to be a block buster CG extravaganza, so don't expect a block buster action horror and you will enjoy it.

But again, if you know nothing about geek culture this will go right over your head.

Great performances by all, need to say that again.