The Gamers

"The Gamers", a story about a hilarious fantasy role playing session, is the best no budget movie I've ever seen.

I assume, it's the best thing you can do with $0.00, a cheap camera and a bunch of really motivated friends. Don't expect good acting, good costumes or anything like a complex script. So why do I give this movie 8 out of 10 points? Because it's funny. Really, really funny. You probably have to be gamer yourself, to get most of the jokes, but when you do, they'll make you laugh. Hard! Even years later you'll smile, whenever anybody mentions them.

I highly recommend this movie to every gamer out there!

This movie is short and very low budget. But when I watched it for the first time, I spent almost the entire 48 minutes laughing so hard the tears were streaming down my face. I didn't laugh *quite* that hard the second time I saw it. Even today, months after the last time I saw it, thinking about a scene in the movie makes me laugh. Gamers are definitely the target audience, though you don't necessarily have to be a gamer to get it - my wife has played a grand total of one RPG session in her life, and she loved the movie too.

All in all, I would recommend this movie to anyone who has played an RPG at some point in their life, or has a sense of humor.

"The Gamers" is the solution that the universe found for the atrocity that was the D&D movie. It chronicles both the real-world and fantasy-world exploits of some college guys as they try to rescue the princess while avoiding being sent packing by the campus police. The "natural 20" scene is not to be missed, and even non-gamers will likely get a laugh from it. The DvD has a commentary track my Monte Cook, and you can even get subtitles in Latin. If you check your local gaming conventions, you may even get to see a free screening of the film. It's well worth the trip.

If you've played D&D, or just about any other role-playing game, check this out. The acting is for the most part, terrible (except the young lady: she conveys anger fairly well...). The special effects are not very special. The script is not too bad, though a little on the silly side. But, the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. The characters in some of the scenes could be replaced with nearly anyone who has played a role playing game in the past. And that's it's real charm. You can picture yourself in it. You've experienced it before. You can watch it and say to yourself; 'I've been there before.' Though, if you've never played a role-playing game before, then this film is nearly a complete waste of time. Also note: there is some strong language, so parents beware. Violence is implied, but not shown.

I am a gamer, and this movie had me cracking up for the entire 48 minutes. It's short, but it gets its point across. From the looks of things, a comedy troupe made this movie. They obviously had a very low budget. The sets looked very fake, but it was okay. It sort of added to the humor.

Sometimes, with higher budget movies featuring big stars, the actors seem wrong for the parts. The guys in "Gamers" seemed exactly right for their roles, as if they really ARE gamers in real life. Each actor played two roles: a gamer, and his character. The gamers were funny at times and argumentative at others, just like real live gamers. The characters - a barbarian, an archer, a mage and a thief - were cheesy and overdramatic, just like the characters played by a lot of real live gamers. The film might as well have been a documentary about players of role-playing games. As I watched the silly drama unfold, all I could think was "This is how my gamer friends and I look to outsiders!" The idea made me laugh.

I'd bring this movie to a party or friendly gathering. It's not too long for the subject, it's funny, and it's almost true to life.