Review of Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (2014) by Jacob S — 14 Jul 2016

I can kind of see where the hate/disappointment comes from, but I guess that's the pattern with crowd-funded movies/games: They get so hyped to the point where people get excited beyond reason. After two years of it's release, I FINALLY got around to seeing it and I LOVED IT. I think the thing is people wanted it to be more of a nod to video games, but it ended up being more of a nod to films. It's one of those films that's really not meant to be taken seriously (especially since the opening includes the Nerd throwing a game into a trash can and the trash can explodes.).

I loved the film, and it does have a few moments with bad green-screen (mainly Cooper's introduction) but the rest of the green screen is REALLY well-done, and all of the moments that look bad were MEANT to look bad. It's a self-aware comedy, but not the kind of self-aware that the Scary Movies pull and looks at the audience, winks and says "Yes, this is stupid." AVGN The movie just lets the craziness happen, and I LOVE that about it. It's meant to be a fun comedy that never takes itself overly serious, and it's immersive in it's plot and story-telling.

The effects are also pretty good for a rather small budget. Yeah, there are moments where it's obvious it's a miniature or a guy in a suit or a dummy being thrown, but that just adds to the comedic charm, and speaking of comedy, the film does a good job of THAT, too. There were moments where I almost threw up from laughing so hard. There's even a moment in the audience reaction track (yes, I actually watch those. Shut up) where people were laughing so hard you couldn't even hear the next line of dialogue in the film.

In the end, I may have loved it, but it could just be another one those films that's truly appreciated by fans and film-makers, but I'll be up on the cinematic barricade of indie films with a musket defending this film like Jean Valjean. (Yes, that was a botched reference.).

(Besides, it's better than pretty much every YouTuber movie made by YouTube Red.).