A new Gamers movie is out and it is mostly good stuff. Our story opens
with Brother Silence the Monk, Luster the Sorceress, Daphne the Fighter,
Sir Osric the Paladin, and Flynn the Bard storming into the lair of The
Shadow, the chief villain of a longstanding campaign. The Shadow
begins his villainous monologue when a phone starts ringing. All stare
at Luster and insist she not answer it. Once the phone stops, The
Shadow resumes his monologue but the phone rings again. Luster answers.
Cass (Brother Silence), Gary (Luster), Joanna (Daphne), Lodge (Sir Osric), and Leo (Flynn) are seated around a table with gaming stuff scattered. Cass proposes they continue next week but Leo (who is also owner of the gaming shop) says all his tables are booked for Romance of the Nine Empires, a card game not unlike Magic: The Gathering. Cass, a true RPG player, has a low opinion of card gamers. However, Natalie, a pretty redhead, shows up for the card tournament and suddenly he is interested.
The movie follows Cass's initiation into card gaming under the tutelage of Leo, who was heavily into the Romance of the 9 Empires in the early days and has an impressive card collection. In order to get a date with Natalie, he must win the High Throne for the Queen of Holden at GenCon. Cass accepts the challenge. The rest of the film takes place at GenCon where Cass disses Live Action Role Playing (LARP) that is associated with the card game. It struck me as odd that a card could be `killed off' at the big tournament though I am quite familiar with the introduction of new cards. It was also interesting that there was a history of the setting that evolved from GenCon to GenCon.
The card game format makes the in-game sequences repetitive. Cass plays the same deck and the same heroes go on the same quests. However, Myriad (the primary hero in his deck) becomes aware that she is repeating herself, that her fate is not in her hands. Whereas the in-game parts of the previous movies were comedy and farce, this setting is played straight.
Meanwhile, Gary is obsessed with Chibichan, an obvious Pikachu knockoff, who walks the con and says "Chibichan" incessantly. Gary has imagined conversations with this fluffy pink bunny and eventually attacks it. He is ejected from GenCon by security; that GenCon security is provided by Star Wars Stormtroopers was awesome! Gary's bizarre obsession was the weakest part of the movie and a bit disturbing too. The attacks get pretty extreme. Gary should be in prison. Not funny.
The movie concludes with The Shadow once again delivering his villainous monologue and providing a clear need for a sequel.
Though not a collectible card gamer and having no interest in becoming one, I still enjoyed the movie. It was fun to see Cass being a jerk to a different set of gamers. The acting was surprisingly good for this sort of film. Many cast members of JourneyQuest find their way into this film, most notably the masked assassin shows up as the heroine Myriad and one of the orcs is her elfin love interest, Dundareel. Generally good stuff and recommended. The Gamers: Hands of Fate is available free online:
Cass (Brother Silence), Gary (Luster), Joanna (Daphne), Lodge (Sir Osric), and Leo (Flynn) are seated around a table with gaming stuff scattered. Cass proposes they continue next week but Leo (who is also owner of the gaming shop) says all his tables are booked for Romance of the Nine Empires, a card game not unlike Magic: The Gathering. Cass, a true RPG player, has a low opinion of card gamers. However, Natalie, a pretty redhead, shows up for the card tournament and suddenly he is interested.
The movie follows Cass's initiation into card gaming under the tutelage of Leo, who was heavily into the Romance of the 9 Empires in the early days and has an impressive card collection. In order to get a date with Natalie, he must win the High Throne for the Queen of Holden at GenCon. Cass accepts the challenge. The rest of the film takes place at GenCon where Cass disses Live Action Role Playing (LARP) that is associated with the card game. It struck me as odd that a card could be `killed off' at the big tournament though I am quite familiar with the introduction of new cards. It was also interesting that there was a history of the setting that evolved from GenCon to GenCon.
The card game format makes the in-game sequences repetitive. Cass plays the same deck and the same heroes go on the same quests. However, Myriad (the primary hero in his deck) becomes aware that she is repeating herself, that her fate is not in her hands. Whereas the in-game parts of the previous movies were comedy and farce, this setting is played straight.
Meanwhile, Gary is obsessed with Chibichan, an obvious Pikachu knockoff, who walks the con and says "Chibichan" incessantly. Gary has imagined conversations with this fluffy pink bunny and eventually attacks it. He is ejected from GenCon by security; that GenCon security is provided by Star Wars Stormtroopers was awesome! Gary's bizarre obsession was the weakest part of the movie and a bit disturbing too. The attacks get pretty extreme. Gary should be in prison. Not funny.
The movie concludes with The Shadow once again delivering his villainous monologue and providing a clear need for a sequel.
Though not a collectible card gamer and having no interest in becoming one, I still enjoyed the movie. It was fun to see Cass being a jerk to a different set of gamers. The acting was surprisingly good for this sort of film. Many cast members of JourneyQuest find their way into this film, most notably the masked assassin shows up as the heroine Myriad and one of the orcs is her elfin love interest, Dundareel. Generally good stuff and recommended. The Gamers: Hands of Fate is available free online:
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