I watched an incredible new movie the other day. It made me laugh, and brought to the edge of tears. It made me grit my teeth in anger. It had me jump off the couch and cheer aloud in the middle of my empty living room, pumping my fist in the air. It had me completely enthralled. I can't really blame myself; I, and many others, have been waiting for this film for some five years. And now we have it: The Gamers 3: Hands of Fate.
I don't really know how to write this without sounding like a bit of a suck. Maybe it's not possible, since this film and those that preceded it are among some of my favourite movies of all time. See?? I already sound like a suck. They're just that good. And it's not that they're overly artsy, or filmed in a truly dynamic manner, or edited with masterful precision unseen anywhere else. That's not the draw. It's the community that pulls me to these movies. Four-thousand-three-hundred-and-eleven of us backed this movie on Kickstarter. Us. I love being able to say that, love being part of this international community that all pitched in. It's the beauty of crowd-sourcing. It's the beauty of geekdom. It's something those bums at BlizzCon will never understand, because they don't get what it means to sit around a dimly lit kitchen table with the best of your friends and game. No servers. No chat windows. Just dice, maps, pizza, and good old-fashioned fun.
On a slightly more serious note, well, this was a slightly more serious movie. The other two were funny, satirical, packed with cultural references and glib game lingo. This one is too, but it's got more. It's no longer just about the game. This time it felt like the movie was living up to its title; this one was about the gamers. It's about rivalry, romance, cheating, cancelled TV shows, story trumping rules, misogyny in gaming, insanity, respect, real life, and revenge. They have a knack for lightening up the serious stuff and making you take the silly stuff seriously. By the time you're done watching it you know that world is real because, if you're anything like me, it's part of your world too. It's recognizable, and tangible...it's like the movie understands you. Which is weird, and a glorious feeling, all at once.
There is truly nothing else I would rather have sunk my money into. I only wish I could've given more, but hey, we made it happen. More than that, they made it happen, this inspired group of writers and actors and directors and creative craftsmen and grunts. This thanks goes out to every one of them, for every ounce of hard work put in to this beautiful movie. No one else could've done it. No one else could've understood exactly what we needed to see. I'm going to throw out a special thanks to Brian Lewis, Trin Miller, and Scott C. Brown, three of the leads in this story and three of my favourite actors. Cheers to you guys, for playing characters we can all fall in love with, get annoyed with, and admire.
This is how we roll.
Watch the movie here or visit www.watchthegamers.com, where the film is streaming for FREE until the end of August.
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