By Jaden Bouck
I actually enjoyed this movie a lot. It was funny, charming, visually impressive, and a movie that actually got internet culture mostly right. I say mostly, because the writers think “noob” and “troll” are still used anywhere on the internet (outside of the “we do a little trolling” meme). They got actual youtubers instead of pretend influencers though, so that balanced it out. Normally, these types of movies that try to be hip and tap into internet culture almost seem pretentious. “Yeah, we know all about the internet! Our favorite memes are thinking velociraptor and screaming goats!”
There were lots of cameos and references to a bunch of video games, so as a gamer that was pretty cool to see. Too much Fortnite, though; I’ve seen more flossing in movies than I would have wished to see in my lifetime. The movie was well written in any case, and the vast majority of the jokes landed. The story was incredibly unique and clever, and actually had some emotional weight.
I really only had three minor issues with it. I mentioned the lack of understanding of the internet already. The second problem was the political messages speckled throughout, but they weren’t a main facet of the story, so honestly I can’t complain that much. The last was the fact they completely make up how coding a video game works, and hoped the audience didn’t notice. When you build a game, the code is removable from it, like a page from a book. If the villain wanted the protagonist’s adaptable A.I., he could have just taken the specific code for that, not coded over the full build of the game.
But those were only small complaints, I really enjoyed the movie otherwise. It had the same feeling as The Lego Movie did the first time I watched it. I’d give it a solid 8 out of 10, maybe even a 9 for the obvious research, work, and love put into it by the makers of the movie. Until next time, folks.
Macro Media Productions 