Gamers are a funny bunch. We prefer nothing more than to laze around at home and play games when there are better things to do outside. At least, that’s what this movie, Level Up would have you believe. In the same vein as films like Nerve and Crank, this is the story of a gamer who after his girlfriend is kidnapped, is thrust into a real-life game of his own to try and rescue her. It’s certainly not an original concept, but may be fun.
The film is a little low-key and low-budget and seems to be trying to include everything from comedy, to espionage, action and the typical intrigue of whether the whole thing is a big game or real-life. It marks the directorial debut of Adam Randall, based on a screenplay he wrote with Gary Young and while it seems pretty much a by the book, formulaic thriller – the trailer offers enough of a guessing game to keep you interested.
Level Up assumes that gamer will somehow have the necessary skills to replicate what he does in his video games into the real world which is still far fetched, but I like the idea that Hollywood at least portray’s serious games as not just been overweight losers with no cognitive skills or capabilities of getting a girlfriend like some of the other writers on this site. [Ed – And you’re fired].
Level Up is out in US theatres August 26th and will then be arriving in VOD in September which is likely how we are going to be getting this film in South Africa.
The full synopsis of the film is below:
A deadbeat gamer’s girlfriend is kidnapped. Her kidnappers keep in contact with him by phone, issuing increasingly ludicrous and dangerous challenges he must complete to keep her alive, forcing him to fight his way across London. When he discovers who kidnapped her and why, he learns he is part of a game far larger than himself. But he still has to get her back. Level Up is the feature directorial debut of English filmmaker Adam Randall of a few short films previously before this. The screenplay is written by Adam Randall and Gary Young. FilmBuff will release Randall’s Level Up in select US theaters starting August 26th, before arriving on VOD later in September.
Last Updated: July 29, 2016
Kromas GG
July 29, 2016 at 17:55
Unrealistic. He is a console gamer so he would not have survived more than 5 minutes. 😛