Must See Movie...

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

One of the things that made the first two movies in this series great was that I could identify with the characters in the movie. I saw bits of myself and other gamers I've known in those characters. I also understood the game and the rules the movie was based around (Dungeons and Dragons) which only further pulled me into the story.When I originally heard that there was to be a third movie in the series, I, and my entire gaming group were immensely excited about it. We couldn't wait to see where they took their characters next or what kinds of ridiculous things might happen... then we all saw it and a resounding sense of disappointment set in.Now the movie wasn't about a group of gamers playing a game that we recognized or understood with characters we could identify with. It was about a single gamer playing a fictitious game that no one could ever really identify with on the same level as the other movies because no one has ever played that game. Even if we have played other card based games like it, we haven't played THAT game and have no understanding of the rules or reasoning behind it.There was no roleplaying, no game to recognize and laugh about or think that the players were using a clever twist on the rules, and no connection to the story. Ultimately, while it had better production value than the previous movies, I never connected with the movie in any kind of meaningful way and generally which left me feeling disappointed.I'm not saying it's a bad movie, because it isn't a bad movie. It just was just missing everything that I found fantastic about the first two movies.

Those I've spoken to who have watched G:HoF seem divided into two camps. The first camp is disappointed, because the movie isn't what they expected. In fairness, G:HoF is quite a departure from Gamers and Gamers: Dorkness Rising. The humor is more subdued, and the storyline is much more pronounced; the film is primarily character-driven rather than situation-driven.The second camp...and I fall firmly in this camp...are pleased with the movie for precisely those reasons. I honestly think that if they'd tried to do a third movie exactly in the vein of the original, it would have fallen flat. There are only so many joking references to gaming tropes and clichés you can make before the material starts to become stale.Instead, the third movie builds on the characters established in the second, fleshing them out and humanizing them; making them less caricatures and more fully-fleshed characters. Cass takes the role of protagonist, and while he's still the same cocky, hyper-competitive power-gamer, he's given a chance to demonstrate other facets of his personality; there's real character development here, and you find yourself rooting for him as the film progresses. Leo gets a welcome chance to be something other than "the guy who dies a lot"--I personally think that Scott Brown is one of the most talented actors in a talented cast, and it's nice to see him get a chance to show it.The focus is on a collectible card game in this film, but I found that much of the humor is a loving send-up, not just of CCGs or gaming conventions, but of epic fantasies and their tropes, with a good dose of spaghetti Western thrown in. Most of the well-worn and well-loved conventions are here: the rebellious loner who comes to down to find it beset by a tyrannical band of marauders; the call to heroism; his initial resistance ("I'm just passing through") worn down as he comes to care for the community; his arrival at the last minute for the showdown with the villain.One discordant note for me is Gary's subplot. It starts off funny, but quickly goes in a very dark direction that doesn't seem to mesh well with the overall tone of the film...less "Eccentric gamer" and more "Seriously psychologically disturbed gamer." While, yes, there were over-the-top acts of violence in the earlier films, those were generally confined to the characters within the games. Seeing similar behavior from one of the players comes across as less funny and more disturbing.Apart from that, though, the film's a very solid and enjoyable one, and one I plan to both own and watch again.

As a fan of all works by Dead Gentlemen Productions and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, I was unsure of what to expect with this movie. At a convention panel earlier this year, ZOE showed the first 5 minutes of the film. They also let us know that they would be doing something different with this one. Previous movies have followed a singular storyline, with different plot points along the way. In this installment, characters each kind of follow their own story lines, each to be explored individually. The movie centers around Cass: an "I'm better than these dorks" kind of gamer who breaks most of the stereotypes. He learns to play a CCG (or TCG, depending on your lexicon) to impress a girl. His adventure takes him through character development and growth, and he is a little less douchy for it.Lodge, Joanna, Gary and Leo are all there in some capacity, but much less than in other films. Their story lines are going to be explored in a number of ways by ZOE in the future. Gary provides a good amount of comic relief, but shows a more sensitive side during this film.When I first watched this movie, I appreciated what ZOE did with their budget. Seeing truly creative people get some serious funding allows them to show what they can do. True, this movie wasn't as funny as other Gamers movies, but it was more whole. It showed that even the most elite Gamer can grow, and that forgiveness can be found in the most unlikely of places. Overall, this movie was a better movie than any previous Gamers flick. I can't wait to see the stories that surround the rest of the gang's GenCon experience.Worth the time? Absolutely Worth the money? Definitely

I was astoundingly disappointed with Hands of Fate.With Dorkness Rising I remember feeling like I was making so much noise laughing that the neighbors would wonder what was going on. Hands of Fate wasn't totally without laughs, but there were so few that it was not worth the boredom waiting between laughs.I mean, they have 2 previous movies and both are based off RPGs, both movies are a bunch of people playing D&D, then you see them playing their characters for "real". HoF was based off of a fictional CCG. The scenes in the CCG weren't played by the person playing the game (one of the things that made the other movies fun) because the cards were all being played by Cass, the biggest jerk from the first movie. So basically, they took 95% of what made the first 2 movies great, threw it out the freakng window, and went a whole new way, and tried to convey some messages that I really didn't care about.I was at Gen Con 2013 and was really sad that they didn't have copies of Hands of Fate for sale there. Now I'm glad they didn't, because I'd be mad if I'd blown money on that boring movie.The only redeeming thing about the movie, in my opinion, is the ending. The very end left open the possibility that the 4th Gamers movie might be what the 3rd should have been. I certainly won't be spending any movie on it until after I've seen it though.