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Pure Pwnage Teh Movie Review


Pure Pwnage The Movie has finished making its rounds on its world premiere tour and I am here to let all you noobs who were not able to attend just how much the movie pwned. First off, if it isn't obvious I am a huge Pure Pwnage fan! I own several Pure Pwnage t-shirts, both the FPS Doug and Jeremy Let Speakers, and I even forked over $50 to snag some cool gear at the premier in Chicago. My love for Pure Pwnage runs so deep I've been known to spout a few lines from the show from time to time. The reason this review is coming out now and not almost a month ago when I saw the movie in Chicago is to allow the rose tinted lens to come off and do this review justice. That means this review will not be biased by my Pure Pwnage love, instead it will be a frank look at what was good, what was bad, and what wasn't addressed. Strap in tight kids, we are about to go on a bumpy ride...spoiler free of course!


First things first, lets talk a bit about the plot of the movie. The movie opens with the reason for the movie being made now in quite a meta story telling faction, using this as both a storytelling device and a way to draw us into the film a bit more. With the setup in place we are quickly introduced, or re-introduced if you're a fan already, to the main stars of the film. After some more setup as to what everyone has been up to we get into the film proper as Jeremy decides to once again teach the world that it sucks! What that entails is Jeremy joining a League of Legends Tournament that happens to have a million dollar grand prize. The movie then follows the ups and downs of Jeremy's journey to win the tournament, his struggle to fit into a team after playing solo for so long, the cold reality that Jeremy is older and has been out of gaming for so long, and what it means to be true to yourself and your friends. Its quite a lot deeper than one would expect from a movie about a League of Legends Tournament.


Now, let's talk about what I enjoyed about this movie. All the characters from the web series return with one exception return for this movie and it is great to see them still channel those old roles they used to inhabit. (For those who may have checked out the web series but did not get too deep into the fandom, the actor/comedian who played the character T-Bag, Troy Dixon, passed away in 2008.) The characters are just as outlandish yet relatable as I remember them and it speaks volumes to both the acting abilities of the films stars and the directors spot on direction. The humor in this movie was also fantastic as it had jokes aimed at long time fans as well as many jokes that both fans and non-fans would enjoy. In fact, my wife who is not a fan of the show found the movie quite entertaining. Another thing that I enjoyed in this movie was the subtle nods to the Pure Pwnage TV series which I feel was quite underappreciated by both Pure Pwnage fans and the mainstream Canadian Audience. I also enjoyed that the movie did not feel the need to regress any of these characters, instead they chose to give them a new life journey that pushed them ever forward instead of rehashing old obstacles and life lessons from the web show. Fans of the web series will really enjoy where the characters are at the start of the film and where they are left off at its end. I can't say enough at the brilliantly bold decision to actually age the characters to match the real life time gap between the web show and the movie as long time fans can still relate to their problems yet new fans can hop on board without any baggage holding them back. The Movie also introduces a few new characters that not only expand upon the collection of gamer archetypes in Pure Pwnage but add quite a bit to the movie. If you never felt like you were quite a Jeremy or a Doug, well these new guys might be right up your alley.



Now we need to talk about the bad and the glossed over. Anyone going into this movie that enjoyed the micro battles and Teh Masterer/Gamer Army storyline will be sad to hear that none of it is addressed in the movie. Personally I loved those elements but I realize why they were cut, I had just hoped that there would be a throwaway line or two about it. We don't even find out what happens to Kris from the end of the last episode of the web series. As I said earlier in the review, T-Bag is not in the movie nor is he mentioned. Talking to Jarett after the film he let me in on the reasons behind it and what they may plan on doing with that whole issue. I understand it is a touchy subject and I feel like a dick now as I did at the premiere for even bringing it up. Another thing about the movie that kind of bothered me was the lack of screen time for Tagi. Now, she was never on screen as much as any of the other characters in the web series, but her role in the movie is so small it's almost cameo or special guest star status. Once again I know Miranda Plant, the actress who plays Tagi, lives in New York and probably was only available for filming a certain number of days, but it would still have been nice to get a little more screen time for Tagi. The last negative thing I have to say about the movie involves the way things get wrapped up in the end. Now, throughout the movie there are subtle clues and hints as to how things are going to end up for a pair of certain characters but if you're to focused on the action or comedy in the movie you might miss those clues and left dumbfounded as to how they end up where we do.


Pure Pwnage Teh Movie is a fantastic film that fans of the web series, fans of video gaming, and fans of comedy in general will enjoy. There are plenty of great one liners that you will be spouting for weeks after the film. There are new and old characters that all feel like they are people you could meet in real life and probably have met in real life. The guys behind Pure Pwnage, Jarett Cale and Geoff LaPaire are not a couple of dudes trying to mock or insult gamers instead they are a pair of gamers trying to shine a light on the fact that gamers are real people that come in many different forms yet we come together for our love of the games. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good comedy and can't wait until it comes out on DVD. Well that wraps up my review, but if you still want to hear more about Pure Pwnage Teh Movie be sure to check out the two great reviews that fans dropped on YouTube. Feel free to comment, like, share, or whatever other thing you kids do on your social media these days.

The Alex Talionis review
The Phil Up review


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Comments

  1. This Movie Review! was actually fantastic. Love the series too, shown very nicely how different forms of people we are and yet we come together for our love of the games.

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