Video Games: The Movie

Writer-director Jeremy Snead's feature, narrated by Sean Astin, aims to tell the story of video games and electronic "gamer" culture past, present, and future. Video Games begins with an historical overview, from Pong, Space Invaders, and the dawn of Atari and Intellivision (with original TV ads in all their nostalgic glory) to Angry Birds and "cloud" computing. Further segments address/debunk fears over video violence, explore how games (especially online multiplayer ones) foster communities and relationships, and look at the efforts of designers who aspire to be "artists," telling nuanced, dramatic stories on a par with novels and screenplays (going unmentioned: the generally mediocre movies derived from video games). Serious gamers (those who visit gaming sites like GameSpot and IGN daily) will be able to nitpick fine details, and will no doubt balk at the exclusion of favorite titles and/or systems, while PC gamers will surely take issue with the overwhelming emphasis here on console gaming. Generally speaking, however, this will appeal to viewers for whom characters like Crash Bandicoot, Earthworm Jim, or Leisure Suit Larry evoke fond earlier memories. Game-industry bosses and fans interviewed (some of whom helped produce) include actor Wil Wheaton, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, programmer David Crane, author Ernie Cline (Ready Player One), and filmmaker/actor Zach Braff. Recommended. (C. Cassady)