eHero

As an avid gamer I'm always disappointed there aren't more eSports and generally video game themed movies out there so I was quite excited at the prospect of eHero. I haven't enjoyed anything of this obscure sub-genre since the excellent Video Game Highschool (2012).

It tells the story of a young man (Aren't they always when it comes to gaming themed stuff) who after a high profile win gets the chance to join a team and really progress his eSports career.

Well first off consider me jealous, that would be right up there on my list of dream jobs but though it's increased on popularity I still have absolutely no faith in it as it's simply not taken seriously by enough people (The ones with money and power).

Now again I was looking forward to this, I thought it was likely to be a 90 accurate portrayal of someones journey into professional esports. Alas I was sorely mistaken.

eHero is Hollywood eSports, what I mean by that is instead of doing a standard realistic movie based on the industry they adopted all the usual sports movie tropes (To the letter) and threw ridiculous amounts of needless backstories and dramatics to keep people interested. We don't need that, we needed an enjoyable movie that tells a story within eSports not THAT!

If you've seen a sports movie, any sports movie at all then you'll know exactly how this is structured. Trouble is you know all the macho nonsense that usually goes with them? Yeah that's present here as well and simply shouldn't have been.

eHero on paper is something that I should have really enjoyed, it's something that quite frankly I crave. The end result? A cliched mess made by people who have absolutely no clue when it comes to gaming or eSports. And if I'm wrong and the people do know about those two things, then that is SO much worse.

Should be a movie for gamers, isn't.

The Good:

Decent concept

The Bad:

Unlikeable characters

Poor soundtrack

Opts for dramatics over realism

EHero is basically a teen sports movie, if you replace sports with eSports. From start to finish the film is peppered with details that competitive gamers will appreciate, but it's still enjoyable by casual gamers and those who grew up watching siblings play games. The game of choice is "Reflex Arena" which is a First Person Shooter inspired by Quake. Outside of the movie, the Reflex developers and community came up huge in support for eHero to provide over 20 minutes of high quality choreographed game-play footage per the script that showcase frenetic action along with an attractive in-game art style across a variety of worlds.

The movie is in a weird place as far as budget goes as it is too big compared to most indie films, but way too small for Hollywood. A major production company with a larger budget may have been flashier with effects but left out certain struggles (no spoilers!) that professional gamers encounter. Although some people will inevitably bash aspects of the movie here and there, I think it hit the perfect mix of realism in gaming and drama.

First of all this film is not terrible. It's a film aimed at a specific market of gamers. You have never seen a film like this so specific towards gamers, I don't mean like ready player one either, I mean the life of an actual pro gamer going from tournament to tournament.

Now the story is ok, it's simple and easy to follow, there is some character and relationship development but not that deep. The acting is ok, nobody you recognise (Sean Aston cameo) and with the script they all did an ok job, the pace is quite good and I wasn't ever bored. I think in the right hands with a bigger budget this could have been a hit. For example use a real game like Overwatch or Fortnite and get a couple of established stars and this could have been quite successful. Unfortunately without that this falls to much into the OK category and for that reason won't be seen by many or get good enough reviews.

Worth noting the director is like 19 years old and did a solid job by the looks of production. If your a gamer or have an interest in a view of the professional gaming lifestyle then I would recommend watching this.

In the first 2min you will understand this quality, this movie feels like some low budget inde college movie project

We admire good, decent people, but to make a story gripping you need a nasty villain. eHero gains a lot of emotion from the character, Jonathan Spencer (Sean Colby), an especially cruel young man totally eaten up by jealousy and a desire not just to win a lucrative prize in professional gaming, but to crush and physically humiliate his rival, Tyler Conway (Greg Hovanessian). Our villain resorts to whatever violence he can get away with, and to psychological warfare, stooping to dominate our hero's love interest. Colby plays this role to the hilt.

We all hate a bully, and we feel for Tyler Conway's demoralization. But Tyler and his team of odd-balls are resourceful and creative. A strong point of this film is how Tyler and team find a niche in society, a place where their unusual skills are useful and thrilling . MIT is so successful because it does the same thing for nerdy young people with talent.

The film is fast paced, never boring and well acted, and introduces you to the world of professional gaming which is growing faster than anyone expected, right before our eyes.