Love, Guns and Level Ups is a fun, thrilling, and heartfelt contemporary love story infused with action and pop culture, crossing from various game settings to real world action.
When an International cosplayer (costume wearer) and an introverted game developer connect online, romance develops. Bree lives in England but is soon on her way to Elliot's hometown, Adelaide, Australia for a convention.
Although I've never been a gamer, I was immediately captivated and totally charmed by the storytelling. It is elaborate, layered and wonderful in every respect. The leads, Lisa Fanto as Bree and Eduard Gehl as Elliot, are both superb actors evoking delightful characters, and I found their whirlwind courtship touching. Elliot is hot but spends his time in his room gaming and writing a game of his own. Bree works in a bakery but has a celebrity persona as a costumed superhero, mainly in cyberspace.
These main characters, have besties that they game and hang-out with. Their status is threatened by the romantic developments and both of these actors, Shabana Azeez and Walter Buckley, add a great deal of warmth and colour to the action.
The locations are wonderfully unlimited; from an American western to an Egyptian tomb to the Wayville showgrounds. The costuming, make-up, props, stunts and special effects are brilliant, creating an astounding range of imagery. This is a mélange of styles seamlessly woven together, morphing from the surreal to the very real from one scene to the next. There's a high body count of in-game beings, but that's not the point at all. Love, Guns & Level Ups is more concerned with themes of jealousy, trolling and women's roles in the real and video gaming world. This is a very clever and entertaining film, neatly and deftly touching on serious issues.
I saw Love, Guns & Level Ups on Adelaide's largest cinema screen and recommend that you binge watch this 6 part series (which is more like chapters in a feature film) on the largest and best screen available because it is film making of the highest order. Cinematographer Dave Gregan and editor Dan Vink have produced a startlingly handsome product.
And locate your best sound system too, as the sound design is superb, the dialogue smart and the music, great.
I loved it. Free on YouTube on the Fury Fingers channel.
