The Gamers: Hands of Fate

The Gamers: Hands of Fate"* is an absolute gem that brilliantly combines humor, heartfelt storytelling, and a deep love for tabletop gaming. As a fan of both movies and games, I found this film to be an exciting and delightful experience that truly captures the spirit of the gaming community.

The film follows the journey of a group of gamers as they navigate the world of collectible card games and tournament play, all while dealing with the challenges of friendship, rivalry, and personal growth. What sets this movie apart is its clever writing, which is packed with witty dialogue and inside jokes that any gamer will appreciate. The characters are well-developed and relatable, each bringing something unique to the table, making you root for them as they face their individual challenges.

The production quality is impressive, especially considering it's an indie film. The cinematography and special effects are skillfully done, enhancing the gaming sequences and bringing the world of the card game to life in a way that is both visually appealing and immersive.

One of the highlights of *The Gamers: Hands of Fate* is how it balances comedy with heartfelt moments. While it's full of laughs, the movie also explores deeper themes of passion, dedication, and the importance of community, making it more than just a parody or niche film. The blend of fantasy and reality is seamless, and the narrative structure keeps you engaged from start to finish.

Overall, *The Gamers: Hands of Fate* is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys tabletop gaming, card games, or just a well-crafted story with a lot of heart. It's a celebration of geek culture in the best way possible, and it's sure to leave you both entertained and inspired. Highly recommend!!!!

From the forty-five minute The Gamers, through the one hour and a half The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, we get the two hour long Hands of Fate. It starts with the same team as in the second film, all happily playing their D&D game, only to be thwarted by cell phone rings "from work". It made me think that it will be a continuation of Dorkness, made in the same vein: the mature gamers who can't really play their game with reality intruding. I was wrong.

Soon enough we realize that reality has intruded way too much. They are not able to play the role playing game anymore. They are barely meeting once a year and then they never manage to end the game. Enter Natalie, a CCG player with a real passion for a card game with a storyline and a real nice face. Cass immediately falls for her and proceeds to learn to play the game. The entire movie is then about the fantasy land of the CCG game.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I will not reveal anything more about the plot. Enough said that the ending is reminiscent of the first Gamers film and that, even if at first I thought it was going to turn into a sort of weird documentary of what happens at Gen Con and I really really hated the Gary subplot where he is trying to kill the mascot of the show that replaced his childhood favorite, I ended up liking it.

I especially appreciated that Cass is as much a noob at card collectible games as I am and has the same disdain towards them as me, but as the movie unfolds, he gets to understand and respect the game, so I get to identify and evolve with the character while I am watching. I loved that.

Not that everything is dandy dory: most of the acting is completely over the top and some scenes did make me cringe. However the overall feel of the movie, the fact that most of the geekiness made sense and the subtle humor made me like the experience. A bit too long (just make a Director's cut without Gary's story! :) ), but enjoyable nonetheless. I do miss the free fantasizing of the D&D game, though.

Story: cheesy. Acting: atrocious. Special effects: non-existent.

Yet, somehow it drew me in past the first few crucial minutes. I found myself actually enjoying it and caring about some of the characters. And wanting to play the CCG game. Some of the side-stories are a little odd (e.g. Gary) but kinda-sorta worked ..

And wanting to go to GenCon ... The depiction of GenCon was particularly funny (although I have never been to one, i would imagine that the stereotypes were portrayed).

All-in-all, if you are looking for a bit of brainless entertainment, this is a good choice. Very light and funny at times.

Of course I had to sit down and watch the 2013 movie "The Gamers: Hands of Fate", after having just watched the 2002 movie "The Gamers" and the 2008 "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising". And I must admit that I actually harbored some expectations to this 2013 movie as the 2008 movie was glorious fun.

The storyline in "The Gamers: Hands of Fate", as written by Nathan Rice and Matt Vancil, focuses on gamers in the collectible card game universe, which I am not a part of and never seen the appeal in, so this 2013 movie was a swing and a miss in terms of entertaining me, especially since both the previous two movies dealt with roleplayers and not card players.

There were some returning actors and actresses from the previous two movies, which was nice, as it installed a sense of familiarity and continuity in the movie. And it should be noted that the acting performances were good.

The effects in "The Gamers: Hands of Fate" were fair.

However, "The Gamers: Hands of Fate" fell short of fully entertaining me, as I have little or no interest in the collectible card games and the card tournaments that they are used in.

My rating of directors Ben Dobyns and Matt Vancil's 2013 movie "The Gamers: Hands of Fate" lands on a four out of ten stars. It was, to me, the least entertaining and appealing of the movies in the series thus far. Of course I had to sit down and watch the 2013 movie "The Gamers: Hands of Fate", after having just watched the 2002 movie "The Gamers" and the 2008 "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising". And I must admit that I actually harbored some expectations to this 2013 movie as the 2008 movie was glorious fun.

The storyline in "The Gamers: Hands of Fate", as written by Nathan Rice and Matt Vancil, focuses on gamers in the collectible card game universe, which I am not a part of and never seen the appeal in, so this 2013 movie was a swing and a miss in terms of entertaining me, especially since both the previous two movies dealt with roleplayers and not card players.

There were some returning actors and actresses from the previous two movies, which was nice, as it installed a sense of familiarity and continuity in the movie. And it should be noted that the acting performances were good.

The effects in "The Gamers: Hands of Fate" were fair.

However, "The Gamers: Hands of Fate" fell short of fully entertaining me, as I have little or no interest in the collectible card games and the card tournaments that they are used in.

My rating of directors Ben Dobyns and Matt Vancil's 2013 movie "The Gamers: Hands of Fate" lands on a four out of ten stars. It was, to me, the least entertaining and appealing of the movies in the series thus far.

I loved Gamers 1 & 2 and was really curious how they would keep the story fresh. I loved all their D&D jokes on the last two but wasn't sure what they would do to keep the momentum going; the answer was to change and take a risk.

That can often be a tricky thing to do in a trilogy, but they pulled it off. At heart, this is actually a sports movie, just the game is a card game rather than a physical game. This, combined with a much higher budget, allowed them to do all sorts of fun bits that they couldn't have done if they just would have stayed with the same tried and true formula.

I'm glad they mixed things up while still keeping it a very entertaining ride. Can't wait to listen to the commentary tracks to see how they did so much with so little.