ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD - THE MOVIE (Available Digitally on Vimeo)

[fruitsofherwomb]

OK I really didn't want to talk about this because of my position in the Youtube community, but I give the movie a 6 out of 10. It's certainly not horrible. But many times throughout the movie I got the impression that James was stroking his own ego. Lots of scenes with the nerd signing autographs, spitting on things and people going crazy because it was HIS spit and things like that. There's a line in there that says "If the Nerd says it's bullshit, it's bullshit!" very matter-of-factly. I know it's tongue-in-cheek but it was just too much. It all felt very masturbatory on his part. There are a few chuckles for sure, though. I won't give anything away but there are a few plot points that were brought up but never explained. The characters weren't very interesting. Cooper was almost interesting, the female characters were both poorly implemented and the antagonist was so over-the-top and he had no backstory at all. Why was he in a mobile thingy? There are also a ton of cameos that feel very forced, most of whom I don't have any clue who they are (like the stoners near the end).

Technically the movie was well lit in most scenes. It looks pretty good. However the overall quality of the video is very soft. You can tell it was shot on prosumer equipment. The sound is fine and the score is very good and energetic, helping keep the viewer in the movie. I think if it weren't for the score, people would become bored. As for the special effects, they are what they are. Good sometimes, poor at other times. I was surprised that they didn't shoot the miniature scenes at 60fps or at least 30fps and slow them down to 23.98. It would have given the models more weight and realism. I don't know why the Cooper character was green-screened into the Nerd's basement room. Could he not make the trip to PA?

One final thing to note is that James replaces almost every company name in the movie with a fake name. Obviously E.T. became Eee Tee but he didn't stop there. When he's playing Xenophobe, Sunsoft becomes Shitsoft, the door of a NES is left open so that the Nintendo logo doesn't appear. Tons of stuff like that. He even changed the Top Gun gameplay to something that only resembles it. I can certainly understand in the case of ET, but the videogames themselves were changed. Why? He doesn't change that stuff in the DVDs he sells, does he? What's legally different about a downloadable movie vs a DVD you sell?

I watched it last night and I have to agree with you there. Even though another writer on our site gave the movie a 'must see' I will have to respectfully disagree with him and say I would give it (if rating in a 10 scale) a 6. I totally agree with the stroking ego part, when I was 15 mins in I was like "Don't tell me the Nerd is going to get some model girl with nerdy glasses to follow him around" and bam. (I didn't see the poster for the movie before).

Really, it was way too long as well and totally missed the point as to why I enjoyed watching AVGN videos, aka talking about games. Sorry, I'm a fan of his Youtube videos and this movie didn't have enough game in it. Reminded me of when I was a kid and saw the Wizard and only liked it when they actually showed game footage or talked about games...

I also think the "this is a pile of shit" jokes really didn't work well and the plot had too much going for it. The writing should have stuck with a 'buddy comedy' where they go on a trip to find ET The Game and argue about/play games on the way there instead of *SPOILERS* bringing in the army and that Godzilla stuff

The only time I really laughed was they showed Super Rad Video Game Nerd video, now that is what I'm talking about.

[Kamahl]

One final thing to note is that James replaces almost every company name in the movie with a fake name. Obviously E.T. became Eee Tee but he didn't stop there. When he's playing Xenophobe, Sunsoft becomes Shitsoft, the door of a NES is left open so that the Nintendo logo doesn't appear. Tons of stuff like that. He even changed the Top Gun gameplay to something that only resembles it. I can certainly understand in the case of ET, but the videogames themselves were changed. Why? He doesn't change that stuff in the DVDs he sells, does he? What's legally different about a downloadable movie vs a DVD you sell?

I'd like to explain this bit. See, his DVDs are not a problem because he's technically doing a review. Using the material on the review is fair use. That's not the case for a movie, he'd have to get the rights to show all of those games.

[mrbigreddog]

I'd like to explain this bit. See, his DVDs are not a problem because he's technically doing a review. Using the material on the review is fair use. That's not the case for a movie, he'd have to get the rights to show all of those games.

He explains this here... at the 3:25 mark

[Kamahl]

Yes, basically what I said.

[nissling]

Speaking of copyright: In Sweden, you aren't even allowed to upload photos on the internet from video games unless you have permission or is the copyright holder of the game itself. The capture counts as graphics and since that is someone's work, it can be protected. I don't think the laws are anywhere near as strict in the US though.

[mrbigreddog]

I watched it last night and I have to agree with you there. Even though another writer on our site gave the movie a 'must see' I will have to respectfully disagree with him and say I would give it (if rating in a 10 scale) a 6. I totally agree with the stroking ego part, when I was 15 mins in I was like "Don't tell me the Nerd is going to get some model girl with nerdy glasses to follow him around" and bam. (I didn't see the poster for the movie before).

Really, it was way too long as well and totally missed the point as to why I enjoyed watching AVGN videos, aka talking about games. Sorry, I'm a fan of his Youtube videos and this movie didn't have enough game in it. Reminded me of when I was a kid and saw the Wizard and only liked it when they actually showed game footage or talked about games...

I also think the "this is a pile of shit" jokes really didn't work well and the plot had too much going for it. The writing should have stuck with a 'buddy comedy' where they go on a trip to find ET The Game and argue about/play games on the way there instead of *SPOILERS* bringing in the army and that Godzilla stuff

The only time I really laughed was they showed Super Rad Video Game Nerd video, now that is what I'm talking about.

I agree that it could of been a bit shorter (really needed to have a 3rd party edit the movie for him) But overall it was a funny movie. I was really impressed with the plot with ET2 being released. It just worked very well. And it is definitely made to be seen with a crowd. I laughed SO HARD when he did the tribute to the TMNT 3, where the girl falls off and then disappears.