Gauntlet

This film is proof that if you have a dream, a solid work ethic, a willingness to learn new skills, patience, a positive attitude, and a supportive community around you, that you can create worlds out of thin air. You don't need a budget or Hollywood connections. You can make it happen. Jeff Loehrke proves that one man can write, direct, shoot, act in, edit, and create stunning visual effects to make a dream a reality. Gauntlet is a spectacle to see. It goes above and beyond what independent filmmaking can do. And it's so much fun! Make some popcorn, turn down the lights, and enjoy this cinematic feast!

Let me start by saying that I watched the movie and wrote this review as a favor to a friend. I can only imagine that all these 8 and 9 star reviews have been written by the cast members? Or their family and friends? I have seen better films directed by high school students. The acting is so cringe.

It IS impressive that the writer/director/producer created this entire movie in his garage apparently? That's absolutely more than I (or the average person) could accomplish. But I don't feel as though people are reviewing this movie objectively. As an average person's random accomplishment, this is great! It's cool that they learned how to film, edit, etc. As a movie, it is NOT great. It's not like this film is going to win any awards, and if this is what they came up with after ten years of work, I think it would be a while before they created something that I would actually want to watch.

Also, the entire story line seems to be a poorly-made Tron rip-off.

Absolutely love the story line of this movie. I won't give any spoilers, but the twist at the end definitely leave the viewer contemplating the intricacies of what they just watched. I've got to say, as others have mentioned, the effects and the performance in the movie definitely exceed the expectations for indie films. I enjoyed the nostalgic, yet modern feel of the game setting. You feel the "age" of the VFX, but I actually enjoyed it... you could tell that immense effort and time was put into producing them, and of course, they're 10-years old, when VFX technology was very young and new. The story arc is classic... with the villain turning out to be the person you didn't expect and the revealing of unforeseen allies the protagonist meets along his journey. Definitely worth sitting down, popping a bag of popcorn, and diving straight in. Can't wait until this is public so I can share with my friends.

After watching this film, there are some high points and some points that could have improvement.

High points: The visual effects were outstanding! It's hard to believe that this wasn't done by a studio where more than one person would have been working on it. The colors chosen throughout the film were intriguing and interesting and set within the 90's time period well. The music composer did an excellent job of helping me to feel the emotion of the movie even more. The story was compelling to watch. Suriv's performance was comical, yet very well done.

The areas that could have some improvement is what would be expected with a very low budget film. Part of it was some of the acting. It was evident it was the early part of some of their careers. Then outside of the visual effects pieces, some of the camera work could have been less grainy, but that was mostly at the very beginning and very end of the film. However, that could have been part of the vision for a film that takes place in the 90's.

Do the high points outweigh the low? Absolutely.

Have I watched it more than once? Yes.

Would I recommend it as an interesting, fun watch for a Friday night? Yes.

The story behind this movie is amazing: a one man show writing, directing, and editing over the course of a decade. Gauntlet is an incredible showing of VFX and visually beautiful. Many scenes really brought the viewer in due to the amount of detail. I really liked a lot of the character play and interaction throughout. The story was fun and an easy, entertaining watch. Some of the character wardrobe could've been improved, and some of the acting felt amateur at times. But this was a low budget film taken on by essentially one man, so some shortcomings are expected. But Gauntlet is a great watch and a good time.