The Gamers

"The Gamers" is the solution that the universe found for the atrocity that was the D&D movie. It chronicles both the real-world and fantasy-world exploits of some college guys as they try to rescue the princess while avoiding being sent packing by the campus police. The "natural 20" scene is not to be missed, and even non-gamers will likely get a laugh from it. The DvD has a commentary track my Monte Cook, and you can even get subtitles in Latin. If you check your local gaming conventions, you may even get to see a free screening of the film. It's well worth the trip.

This movie is short and very low budget. But when I watched it for the first time, I spent almost the entire 48 minutes laughing so hard the tears were streaming down my face. I didn't laugh *quite* that hard the second time I saw it. Even today, months after the last time I saw it, thinking about a scene in the movie makes me laugh. Gamers are definitely the target audience, though you don't necessarily have to be a gamer to get it - my wife has played a grand total of one RPG session in her life, and she loved the movie too.

All in all, I would recommend this movie to anyone who has played an RPG at some point in their life, or has a sense of humor.

Make no mistake about it; The Gamers is not a perfect movie. The script is wrought with hackneyed dialogue, predictable situations, and fan-boy in-jokes that serve to alienate most while entertaining few. But beneath all that is something you can't find in any Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster or Michael Bay monstrosity; genuine enthusiasm of storytelling. Every person involved in every element of this film clearly loved what they were doing. The sheer joy for the material leaps out of the screen and into the faces of the audience. You can't help but smile the whole way through this energetic and ebullient film. And for those of us to whom the film is directed, the current and former members of the cult of nerd, this film is a real treat.

The film is funny, not in the shocking way of a teenage sex comedy or the schmaltzy way of a romantic "comedy," but in the same way that real life is funny. You laugh at this movie for the same reasons you laugh at your friend's bad jokes; the humor touches a nerve at the collective subconscious of all geeks.

If you are now or have ever been a nerd, geek, dork, or dweeb, do yourself a favor and find this movie. And if you aren't, see it anyway. You may catch yourself laughing along with the rest of us.

Anyone who was hazarded into the world of gaming will appreciate this movie. But you need to either be a Gamer or know a Gamer to get any of the humour in this ... film ... I hesitate to call it a film because it's more like a long video skit then anything else. Production values are about as low as they come but they are more than made up for through enthusiasm and the genuine portrayal of all characters through the neophyte actors.

In the film you follow an all male group of D&D players as they Game in the campus dorm. You see them in real life joking around, annoying the hell out of their Dungeon Master by arguing rules, and getting harassed by the non-gamer female neighbour because of their over-enthusiastic role-playing (ie. yelling battle cries and victory dances). The real charm of this film lies in the portrayal of the D&D characters as they act out the actions of the table-top game. It's an opportunity for Gamers to see just how ridiculous some of the things they do in table-top sessions would be in an actual person were to do them in real life. For example, you cannot help but laugh as the thief steals the clothes off of a bar-patron without the man noticing simply because he has so many points in the skill that he cannot possibly fail.

Inside jokes aimed at the gaming crowd are the heart of this film. That heart beats fiercely and never misses a beat.

Warning: This movie is rife with quotable quotes. If you buy this DVD for a significant other who games be prepared to listen to hours and hours of quotes from this movie for the rest of your life. I'm not kidding.

Ending a movie about gaming is probably the biggest challenge the writer of this script had to face. The games Gamers play can go on forever so how do you wrap it up all nice and tidy for a feature film? Brilliantly that's how. The ending of this film is unexpected and simply brilliant.

This film is destined for the Cult Vault. Not very many people will see it -- but it will find a devoted following in the species known as Gamer.

Hilarious! This is the *real* D&D movie. The switch from the real world of a bunch of college dorks playing D&D to the fantasy world of their characters acting out the action is appropriately seamful (the opposite of seamless). All of gaming's cliches are here; long-term gamers will see such gems as "Meeting the new party member", "What to do with the character of a player who couldn't make the game", "Hey--I rolled it", and "Well my *character* wouldn't do that".

Good stuff. Best watched with your old high school or college gaming group.