Pure Pwnage (2016) Reviews

• Excellent

  azamkhan2320012016-05-11

  Great movie and a great follow-up to a beloved, cult web series. Pure Pwnage is a perfect window into the world of hardcore gaming...with some fantasy elements mixed in, a bit of humanity, and a ton of comedy. From the first episode, this was a well-planned and well-executed series. That is amazing for a crew of any size, let alone a handful of independent film-makers. This movie takes what was best about the web series and updates it to the present. As funny as ever, I highly recommend this movie to any fan of gaming and anyone who wants a good laugh. The comedy shines through as always. Even if one has never seen the Pure Pwnage web series, they will be able to pick up on some of that comedy. But really, this is meant for fans of the show who know the background of the various characters! 10/10

• Great nostalgia trip but way too heavy on league content that ends up alienating non league players.

  originalitydaniel2016-05-07

  First off it was great with the exception of the league heavy scenes. I'm not a league player and when i watched the original web series i wasn't a WoW player however the majority of the jokes on specific games in the webseries could still be funny as you the viewer would see the jokes from the perspective of not understanding just as most other characters do. This film has certain scenes that can only be enjoyed if you understand the metagame of League of Legends so any time those scenes popped up especially the ending id sit back and think "well okay.. they're killing them.. and uh they won?" then everyone would go ballistic over this crazy play that i have No idea what happened in it. the old web series would often sneak in a game specific joke but it didn't linger on it, when the old webseries lingered on a specific game it was usually very easy to understand even if a gamer hasn't played WoW or Counter Strike or C&C Generals or CoD the big scenes could still be understood from an outsider. In this film the big LoL scenes i barely understood and it took a lot of enjoyment out of the film for me. I do wonder what other non League players think of this film. Maybe it's not as big of a deal as I'm making it out to be it's just for me i felt like i Really should've understood more instead of being a clueless bystander. Even if id never played Counter Strike and end tournament was about CS:GO id think any gamer could've easily understood what was going on such as the old EP8 Lanageddon episode. I really don't have a problem with League i just have a problem with my inability to understand what the hell was going on during those scenes. Ultimately it was a huge nostalgia trip, i do hope we see more PP content in the future and despite my desperate attempt at describing my own inability's it's a great film with classic characters and some interesting new ones. They're free to meld the new PP in to whatever they want and hopefully ill be around to watch it.

• A great addition to Pure Pwnage for 2016 *Spoiler Free Review*

  tehmakrer2016-05-09

  To start I am a big fan of the Pure Pwnage franchise, I have followed them since the old web series days, and have loved all of the content Jarett and Geoff have made. I am one of their Indiegogo backer, and have waited a long time for this film. That being said I thought this movie was alright for what it had to work with. This was not a home run by any means, but it did deliver for the Pure Pwnage fans. There were many call backs to the original web series which was very nostalgic. The movie was heavy in League of Legends content, though I am very familiar with League, I could see how if you have never played it or have watched it you would be lost. This is a movie made by gamers for gamers, and as it stands League is the most popular competitive multiplayer game at the moment, which they did utilize well. For those who don't understand League they did briefly explain the rule in a few scenes. While the first act delivered the hardest, and put a new spin on the characters to modernize them for 2016, the second and third act seemed a bit to convenient for many story elements. Also many of the characters actions didn't make sense for what many scenes led you to believe toward the end of the film. To end this review I would like to say that I am glad this movie was made and it was a good expansion on the Pure Pwnage brand, and I think its a movie worth watching, especially for gamers. This movie did "make the world suck less".

• a great comedy not only for gamers

  paprsek2016-05-27

  I loved it, granted that this is one of my all time favorite shows so I am probably really biased. One way or the other, this film is great. For me it's genuinely funny. The story is original, clever and I didn't expect most of what happened at all. It's such a refreshing thing to watch a film where the characters talk about playing games and it makes sense. Not only that but they can play them, watching the game footage is interesting and the characters look like they're actually playing. This is so funny to me because it's probably the first film that does this right. I had a lot of fun with it and the story wasn't just gags and jokes, the story was really compelling. If you watched the original series, you can't miss this. If you play video games I think you definitely enjoy this. If you've never played a video game in your life it might still be a great comedy for you because of the wonderfully quirky characters.

• Incredibly funny and well-crafted movie

  uniforced2017-03-04

  Pure Pwnage hits a perfect balance between being self-aware, making fun of the process, and telling a serious story. The characters are charming, engaging and believable within the universe, and the comedy is laugh-out-loud funny. I rarely laugh at comedy movies, and I didn't know what to expect, but I can't overstate how funny this movie is at times. It's amazing to think that I had to actively look for it online, and that it's not promoted as the big comedy movie of our generation. The storytelling is extremely ambitious. You have several plots and meta-plots going on at the same time, often hilariously breaking the fourth wall. The movie changes view between a struggling director trying to put this movie together, a group of gamers who feel like they're too old to play games, and the actors clearly going out of character to make fun of the story. You hardly notice it, because it's so well put together, but you can tell a LOT of work and writing went into this movie. You don't need to know the story of Pure Pwnage to enjoy the movie, but it certainly helps. Pure Pwnage was the first web series that explored the online gaming culture, and had fun with the themes, trends and habits of gamers. In the early 2000's, you were nobody if you didn't know the meme "boom, headshot!", a phrase used by Dough, a character on the show. Pure Pwnage was the first multimedia to treat gamers as adults, and it made the culture what it is today. Sadly, I don't think the people who grew up with Pure Pwnage know that this movie exists. As soon as I learned, I just had to see it. One thing to notice is that the director is extremely creative and ambitious. You can tell he's obsessed with the theory of movie-making. This means that you're never bored, and that the movie contains more absurd twists than a Terry Gilliams film, but it also means that his obsession with technique can get in the way of continuity and tone. He often bites over more than he can chew, and then continues to march like nothing happened. I don't know if it's good or bad, but it's probably why the movie works, but also why it abandons a few plot elements. The pacing is absolutely amazing, and I have no idea how this movie isn't the result of some big studio. Overall, it's an excellent production with only a few flaws. The first half of the movie perfectly captures the magic of the early 2000's web series. The second half ties the story together, and contains multiple layers of plots and dimensions that will blow you away. Somehow, under the charming and playful characters, the movie retains an exciting plot, while constantly making fun of the characters and the culture it portrays.