Noobz

I love Gears, i play ever since the first one. I also happen to love road trip and raunchy comedy movies, so this was the perfect movie for me right? Well on paper only.

First of all, the introduction really got me into it, not only there is Gears promo all around, both in Jason Mewes store and room, but he also wear shirts and caps etc. On top of it, even if the movie is from 2012 and by then the game was like 8 years old, there is also posters from Bloodrayne 2, another of my favorite franchises. I actually have the same poster. And he even got a real size cardboard cut out of Sonya from Mortal Kombat reboot (2011). So yeah this room is awesome !

As we are introduced to the players, this is when i noticed the first flaws tough. First, no way these guys would be lev 1 and lev 3 if they are active Gears players. They should had manage to make them appear as level 100 players (if the update/dlc that introduced re-up was not there yet) since it was really not long to get there if you play every day. Then, im not sure on this when it comes to clan matches but Gears 3 is a 5 on 5 game, not sure why they play as 4 on 4.

I guess this is minor stuff for the general viewer so how is the movie itself? Well there is some funny parts, the general story is interesting, but in a way it never seen to fully commit into the subplots it try to go. The only one that somehow feel more developed is the Hollywood subplot wich i won't mention more to remain spoiler free.

Another thing that bothered me as a Gears gamer are the plays, not only the plays are terrible and it looks like actual Noobz or the actors themselves were creating the video game footage, but its VERY unlikely even as a godlike player that 1 dude could go 1 on 4 against other top players in Gears 3. Guy would had been wrecked by crossfire lancers.

I know this review is really all over the place and do not talk maybe enough of the movie but rather the game part, but its flaws that i had trouble overlook, even if i had a decent time and enjoyed the movie while at the same time it surely won't become a classic i watch back every couple years.

Jason Mews is really the brightest spot in it and elevate the movie as well, but thats not surprising, i always enjoy this guy's work.

Noobz is the story of four gamers and their path to LA and the Cyberbowl Video Game Championships. Of course, there's the usual trials and tribulations that come with such a trip. Written and directed by relative newcomer Blake Freeman, the central four of the film are played by Jason Mewes (Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, The Tripper, Todd & The Book of Pure Evil), Matt Shively (Paranormal Activity 4), Moises Arias (Hannah Montana, Nacho Libre) and Freeman himself. Along the way, there's comedy, romance, break-ups, gaming rivalry and Casper Van Dien.

The film starts off by showcasing the rivalry that is now more popular than ever between online games. Gone are the days of one man sat in his room, bashing his joystick on his own. Now said joystick basher has the chance to test his wits against other like-minded people across the globe. Even better than that, there are now gangs/clans that games can join up with in order to take down other clans via the joys of the worldwide web.

We're firstly introduced to three friends; Cody (Freeman), Andy (Mewes) and Oliver (Shively). They play Gears of War 3 online in a four-man clan alongside their cyber-friend 'Hollywood', supposedly Casper Van Dien, but in reality Moises Arias. All four are obsessed gamers, with them calling a halt to all other activities in their life when there's the chance of an online match - jobs and relationships firmly take a back seat early on in the story. We also quickly learn about their mortal enemies; the 'Black Assassins' clan. The film is set up as a buddy movie of sorts, with some smutty and sexual humour thrown in for good measure.

First thing's first with a comedy like this, is it actually funny? To this, I say, an unequivocable 'at times.' The film starts off well, with the principal cast and the basic plot all introduced quickly and thoroughly enough. It's sometime during the second act that the film starts to lose its appeal. At first the jokes are fine, even funny a lot of the time, but they just seem to repeat themselves the longer the film goes. The humour is toilet humour at best. Luckily, I'm a fan of toilet humour - I just prefer it to be a bit funnier than the majority of what's on show here.

Whilst the characters are all supposed to be flawed in their own individual ways, I didn't find myself feeling any attachment to any of them. Now, I'm a gamer as well, so I could relate to that part of the story, it's just that the characters, particularly Cody, feel hollow. There's just nothing there to care about. There's the unravelling of an apparent love story featuring Mewes and Zelda Williams' Rickie, yet you never really buy into it as it's not fleshed out enough for you to even care about, especially when the film reaches its finale. You're left thinking, 'what was the point?' with that subplot – a feeling that you'll have to become familiar with if you're to see Noobz through.

The film isn't entirely horrible; there are some funny bits. The funnier scenes seem to stem around young Sklyan Brooks' Chomamma; the leader of the rival 'Black Assassins' clan. It's just a major shame that the majority of his scenes tend to come in the first half of the film, meaning that the better stuff is out-of-the-way early on. I also quite look the comical usernames that the main characters have, with RumPULL4Skinz being a favourite of mine. There's also some decent performances, mainly from Matt Shively and Moises Arias. There's even a nice subplot involving Jon Gries' distant father to Arias' Hollywood. Gries is great in his role as a world-famous retro gamer, with Frogger being his game of choice. He's almost an exact replica of the real life Billy Mitchell, as featured in the brilliant 2007 documentary The King of Kong. As well as Gries, it's also nice to see an appearance from a personal favourite of mine, Lin Shaye. It's just a shame that her role is brief and relatively unimportant. You also feel as if Jason Mewes is trying to his best with the role, yet he seems to be facing a constant uphill battle. His character is often funny, yet sometimes a bit too forced, with the character just coming off as Jay-lite for those familiar with Mewes' appearance in various Kevin Smith films over the years. Mewes is better than this.

The concept of the film is quite nice in principle, but the execution is sloppy. The film takes elements from films such as Fanboys, Detroit Rock City, Role Models, Sex Drive and the aforementioned The King of Kong documentary, yet it fails to live up to any of those. Flat, hollow, lifeless and unfulfilling are just some words to throw at Noobz. It does have a Casper Van Dien cameo though.

I was really hoping for a lot more from this film, yet I was massively disappointed. It's not without its charms, it's just that they're few and far between. I give Noobz a bland and boring 4 out of 10 stars. I do quite like the tagline of 'Regular guys, virtual heroes' though.

As I've grown older I'm certainly spending more of it at my home computer doing things like writing this review. But it's a changing world when so many younger than I spend hours devoted to playing video games. As many don't ever meet in real life you can choose some real interesting cyber monikers for yourself betraying your own fantasies.

Noobz concerns for such who've formed a team of sorts Richard Speight, Matt Shively, Jason Mewes. and young Moises Arias who are on a road trip to Las Vegas to win the gaming championship and it's $100,000.00 grand prize. And since this Las Vegas we're going to have a great old time doing it.

I guess I'm not into computer games so the whole world escapes me. When at one point one of these characters says that they are the new athletes of the 21st century I'm stunned. Just think how someone like Michael Jordan or Cal Ripken feels.

Casper Van Dien was one of the producers and wrote himself into the film as himself. Casper, you should have done another sequel of Starship Troopers.

I watched this as part of the Fantasy Filmfestival in Germany. It's not exactly fantasy, but the Festival is known for their diversity, which I like. And the movie has really good intentions. Anyone familiar with the word "Noob" and those that will learn the meaning of it, might like it's definition. I'm not so sure they will like the movie though.

It's hard to be mad at the guys too of course. Casper van Dien has a nice cameo, where he makes fun of himself. Jason Mewes is as energetic as always and some of the jokes really hit home. But overall there is a sense that the movie is too aware (in a bad sense) of what it tries to achieve. While not completely achieving it. Hits and misses all over the place, make it impossible to dislike (for me), but also impossible to like (have seen better).

Noobz doesn't try to be something it's not. Saw the film during the E3 convention in Los Angeles. Looking at the budget listed here, it is obviously an independent film. I can respect the scope of the world they achieved at any level outside of a studio.

Noobz does a good job capturing the gaming culture, without the usual "nerd trying to get laid" stereotypes. Identifiable characters along with above average acting, sets this film apart from its predecessors.

For what it is, not an art film nor an Oscar pitch, it's the best video game movie made so far.

My score is based on the fact that it is a gaming comedy and not a comparable film to ARGO.