Is that Handsomestan?
From denofgeek, I was 12 by the time The Wizard appeared on VHS in the UK, so I probably should have known better than to be drawn in by it. Nevertheless, I found myself oddly entertained by this film about a group of kids (among them Fred Savage, then riding high on his Wonder Years fame) who head off to California to compete in a videogame contest.
I was completely seduced by the constant glimpses of dozens of great videogames and gadgets, such as Ninja Gaiden and Super Mario Bros. 3, and those Power Glove things that looked futuristic, but nobody bought. As a result, I completely failed to notice that the entire film was just a swiftly-made commercial for Nintendo. Nor did I notice that The Wizard actually has quite an impressive cast, with appearances from Beau Bridges, a young Christian Slater, and an even younger Tobey Maguire.
As an adult, The Wizard is now rather difficult to watch, with a dream-like absence of logic, flat script and blatant product placement. Nevertheless, as a glimpse into an era of bleepy 8-bit gaming, it’s like a 100 minute 80s time capsule, and a fitting epitaph for the ill-fated Nintendo Power Glove.
See full list here
No comments:
Post a Comment