Hard-core gamers Max (Tom Plumley), Liz (Hassie Harrison), and Reggie (Joey Morgan) have to learn to play as a team in real life when a long-lost ColecoVision game cartridge turns up at their game store. Max shares the Nether Dungeon game on his website but in doing so, he unwittingly unleashes a curse that possesses anyone who plays it. With the help of the original coders (Greg Grunberg and Joseph D. Reitman), they must face their red-eyed foes and defeat the Harbinger (Richard Lippert).
Written and directed by Scott Conditt and Jeremy Tremp, Max Reload and the Nether Blasters is a fun, retro-heavy adventure that should appeal to gamers and pop culture f. It’s peppered with some famous faces, too. As well as Grunberg (who also serves as co-producer), geek-for-hire Kevin Smith puts in a spirited performance as the over-excitable owner of the video game store but it’s not too far from his regular persona. Lin Shaye is brilliant as always playing Grunberg’s mother and Cobra Kai’s Martin Kove is another highlight as Max’s grandfather. It’s clear that everyone had fun making this, and that enthusiasm helps raise the enjoyment of the film. The effects are cheap and cheerful, giving it a feel of an eighties movie, which works in its favour, too.
Aside from being a love letter to video games both old and new, there’s a healthy message of working together that’s delivered in the same light-hearted vein. It’s a very self-aware film – at one point, Reggie proclaims “This is just like a movie!” – and Conditt’s script manages to avoid being too clever for its own good. There are several animated scenes, including a 16-bit transition when Max is riding his bike across town, which add to the charm. Max Reload and the Nether Blasters isn’t going to win any awards but is a decent diversion.
Max Reload and the Nether Blasters is available on Blu-ray, DVD and digital now.
