Pure Pwnage (2016) User Reviews

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

[originalitydaniel · 7/10 · 7 May 2016]

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*

[tehmakrer · 8/10 · 9 May 2016]

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".

The Definitive, the Best Ever, Ever Ever Gamer Movie

[paranorma-42763 · 8/10 · 11 May 2016]

I can't believe how good this is.

I've been a fan since 2006 - I was fully into WoW at the time, and the "Imapwnu of Azeroth" episode got me hooked. At first, I thought "The writing isn't particularly spectacular; I really only like it because of the parallelism with my life." As my fandom into the show grew, that began to change - I started to see PP as a legitimately great universe by its own merits, especially considering the beautiful ending of Season 1. Then Season 2 suddenly halted, the TV series ran its course, a windfall of sub-par shorts came and went. Some of it was funny, but I wondered if Pure Pwnage would ever make me want to pwn som'n again. I came into the movie with low expectations. I was SO wrong. This really is the greatest gamer movie. I couldn't believe they still had it in them. I couldn't ask for a more perfect execution of a PP movie. The scene where Tagi tells Jeremy "You got your soul back" brings tears to my eyes every time. I am not worthy.

So why not rate 11/10? Well... the PP series has a historical problem, which this movie seriously exacerbates: needless anti-feminism.

Stay with me here.

The movie dedicates at least 5 out of the 90 total minutes to make a statement about friendzoning. Seriously? What does pro-gaming have to do with men shaming women into having sex? "Shawn" is portrayed as Emma's white-knight lackey, hopelessly toiling for her affection in the hopes that he'll get to have the sexes with her. When it is finally revealed that Emma doesn't reciprocate Shawn's feelings, she's painted as slutty and manipulative. They actually repeatedly used the word "Friendzone", and in the casting call, Shawn is described as a "modern knight", all keywords of your typical Men's Rights Activist. As a man, I really don't see the point this story arc is trying to make. There's no humor in it, it's all cringe as it unjustifiably paints Emma as the bad guy and Shawn as the victim. There's plenty more examples - Jeremy and Dougs' girlfriends are both revealed to be manipulative, entitled gold diggers, the female executive is a soulless shrew who seizes the rights to the movie, literally every major female character is in some way a terrible person, except obviously Tagi (who is AWESOME <3 <3 <3). But can't PP do better than "All but one woman in this entire universe are evil sluts"? Even the little girl in the bridge scene "sucks so bad."

This has been a constant throughout PP's entire history. The "girls" episodes in both the web series and TV series exist only to portray almost all women except Tagi as some combination of dumb, annoying, slutty, manipulative, or antagonistic, with no redemptive qualities. Even Tagi eventually dates other guys behind Jeremy's back, just furthering the narrative that ALL women suck. And don't get me started on "Cooking with Dave." I know you guys can make a great show without using women-bashing as a crutch.

It's even more surprising considering how overtly Liberal they were in the Twitch Streams. They even MADE A POINT to make Gayness a central theme of the movie without EVER using the word "Gay" in a derogatory context, as they did in the web series. That was gloriously noble of them. The PPTV series went out of their way in the 6th episode to make a statement about Racism, too ("Oh, so you assume that he's been convicted of a crime, that's totally racist"). It's so bizarre that they're so sensitive to a huge variety of issues while being so nasty to women. The last thing the gamer community needs is yet another gaming series alienating women.

They posted a clip of their Twitch Stream onto YouTube where Geoff argues that the fact that female armpit hair is shocking is not a good reason to be a feminist. I'm not saying the video was bad, but it was odd that they would consider that segment enough of a highlight of their Stream that they would take the time to edit and post it to YouTube.

In another segment, Geoff goes on and on for about 30 minutes about this woman who hired a hit-man to kill her husband... Which led into yet another segment where he drones on for an unnecessarily long period about this annoying woman he ran into. I know you guys don't hate women, but you struggle to hide some deeply seated subtle resentment toward them.

Jarrett also posted this on his Facebook page, commenting "Here's a video that this particular white cis male ****lord found interesting.":

If they want to make the case that Male Privilege isn't all that Feminism demonizes it to be, I get it. I'm not saying there's anything prima facie wrong with making points like men make up 97% of combat casualties or what have you, but when you focus exclusively on men's issues, and not once demonstrate the slightest willingness to just hear out the other side, you're not objective. It's like Fox News focusing exclusively on the Muslims who commit terrorism to perpetuate the narrative that "All Muslims are Terrorists," or "All Liberals are Communists," or "All black people are criminals."

That's all for my rant on feminism. If I'm dead wrong on anything, let me know. I'd feel so much better if Jarrett and Geoff just once took a moment to truly address it.

Pure Pwnage is truly the only web series on the shelf that doesn't lick my balls. Sincerest Congratulations again on creating literally the best Gamer movie ever made. Here's to a bright, successful future of pwnage.

Less than greater than caret to you all.

Excellent

[azamkhan232001 · 10/10 · 11 May 2016]

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

a great comedy not only for gamers

[paprsek · 10/10 · 27 May 2016]

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.

Depressing

[ziptieexhaust · 2/10 · 22 May 2016]

2 old guys go out and make a movie about something they are no longer in touch with. Funny game references we are so used to are out of the window, instead replaced with vanilla political satire of gay marriage, contract law, white knights, social media addiction, corporate life and adderall abuse. When you do see old gamer humor come back, it feels stale and overused. Even the free ball scene during the director swap felt scripted, lame and sad. That's the worst part about this whole performance, it keeps tugging you forward with the prospect of more, and never delivers. No diversity in games, console fighters got a WHOLE 5 seconds of the entire film, sc2? 5 seconds, CS:Go? 2 minutes, the entire point of the original series was the diversity of gaming personas and catering to the market. Now people can watch the movie, and not know what the hell is going on as the entire movie is one long boring league replay.

Pure Pwnage crew, you may have gotten old, and so have I, but for 2 hours of my life I don't want to hear about Twitter, Facebook, office life, gay marriage or tax loophole abuse. I would be no better off watching some lame sitcom with a league replay in the background

Very disappointed, and I was a huge fan

Incredibly funny and well-crafted movie

[uniforced · 9/10 · 4 March 2017]

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.

Unnecessary

[lawlorwalter · 3/10 · 11 August 2018]

This is an unnecessary followup to the funny web series and not so funny TV series. This movie isn't very funny and just seems like they're cashing in on their former shows with a story that's not that great. Nothing special about this one I'm afraid.

Was I let down with the final product? HELL NO!

[sweeeetmikey · 17 May 2016]

PURE PWNAGE The MOVIE review by Mike Smith "FAT Mike"

Kyle wants to make a Pure Pwnage movie and has to do some convincing because Jeremy is now living the suburban life and doesn't want to participate; will Jeremy pwn again? I am a big fan of the Pure Pwnage franchise, from the web show to the unfortunately short lived TV show. So when I saw the Indiegogo campaign for this movie, I had to help.

Was I let down with the final product? HELL NO! It was good to catch up with these characters again. From start to finish I laughed my ass off and it feels like everyone brought their A game. Now if you haven't seen any Pure Pwnage, I highly recommend checking out some of the web show and some of the TV show (because they are a bit different) before you check out this awesome Canadian independent film.

The story is awesome but the movie is heavy on League of Legends, which is the game they focus on. I do know a little bit about League of Legends but it is one game I don't play... if you don't know the game it doesn't take away from the movie which is awesome so all gamers and fans can still enjoy.

The film moves at a good pace with lots of laughs and not once did I feel board. An awesome story, classic characters and lines that are funny and quotable; Pure Pwnage The Movie has a lot of rewatch value. I really hope to see more from the Pure Pwnage... Cheers and remember life won't suck as long as there is a good movie to watch noobs.

10 out of 10

Edited by Sam Locke

Follow on @FatMikeTPK

Like on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/FatMikesMovieReviews/

As a fan, I enjoyed a great deal of the movie

[senor_spielbergo123 · 12 August 2019]

* SPOILERS for the Pure Pwnage movie and possibly the original Pure Pwnage web series*

Especially the first half hour strongly delivers on nostalgia. It captured the feel of the web series (especially the later, more scripted episodes). Camera work, editing style and the music helped keeping it's mockumentary rooted atmosphere. All the beloved characters are back (Kyle's increased presence fitted very well). The initial turn on Jeremy's drugged character kept me engaged. There were so much funny little moments and scenes (Kyle's director fight, classic gaming montages). I loved those little details you could miss in the blink of an eye (Jeremy running around in his dream with a North Korean flag, or Jarett playing the "new guy", or Tagi's text message to Jeremy's Xobo device). Also there were very interesting takes on issues like how medication changes one's personality, on materialism (Jeremy's ridiculous happiness graph), a parody on technology cults (Xobo's ad and their dumb slogan "We make the future the past"), on jobs, friend zones, aging etc. The whole premise of Jeremy's and Doug's legally gay marriage was also a clever contrast to years of "ghey" insults in the gaming culture. Very well played!

I have some negative thoughts though: I wish we would have gotten a few answers to what happened after web season 2 ended. It was lovely to see Tagi, Dave and Kris (yes, she had a cameo) - but it raised more questions than giving answers. My next issue is, that some of the new characters didn't feel that important, because they're "just" Jeremy's team monkeys. (But they self-ironically addressed this at the after-credits scene.) Also some arcs were very loose (Doug's motivations?) and Tagi & Jeremy getting back together. And lastly, I do know nothing about League of Legends and that's probably the reason that the last half hour was not that interesting to me. But I applaud that Pure Pwnage has always addressed what's going on in gaming culture.

I can't tell how entertaining this movie is to anyone who has not been following Pure Pwnage though the years. However, as a fan from back in the day, I enjoyed a great deal of it. It is an impressive accomplishment for a crowd funded debut movie.