Review of The Wizard (1989) by Richard V — 22 Apr 2013

I'll admit, that as a child all I cared about concerning this movie was the fact that it featured the NES and showed Super Mario Bros. 3 gameplay. However, as an adult I have fostered a new, and more mature, view of this movie. This movie tries very hard to be too many things at once. Kid-friendly video game teaser, dramatic family dilemma, shameless plug for Universal Studios and Nintendo. However, because it covers such a wide berth in it's approach, it is all a matter of what your focus is that dictates your assessment of this flick. Like I said, as a child it was all about the Nintendo. As an adult though I have taken the time to see it for the drama that lies hidden beneath the hype of "Video Armageddon" and Nintendo, and I have found myself impressed. Not necessarily with the execution of said drama, but much more with the content. All our characters are troubled and have, if at the very least, an air of distress in how they travel from scene to scene. From Jimmy and his emotionally shattered family, to Mr. Putnam and his desperate mission to retrieve the runaway children, to even Lucas, who sees in Jimmy a potential threat to the order and greatness he has built for himself through his gaming. And what of connection to our principle characters? I believe there is much to relate to in respect to our main characters. Again, this mostly comes down to what your focus is watching this movie. If you are young or old, watching for video games, you may easily personalize with the escape aspect games provide for Jimmy Woods. Or maybe you or someone you knew was the kid who had all the latest and greatest games on the block. For me, it is Corey Woods that resonates the deepest. He is a child stuck in a situation beyond his control, surrounded by frustrated and emotionally immature people. For him, to bring order and balance to his world he must take control, and a leap of faith. Without going too deep, I'll just say that if you look closely enough, many of us can find something in this movie that we can relate to.

Could this movie have been done better? Yes. Could this movie be done today? No. Why? Movies, and video games today are too overblown with CGI and sensory overload to ever even catch an ounce of the real human drama this movie tried to convey.

When this movie came out video games were still relatively new on the mainstream level. It was the beginning of a new era in gaming that has carried on to this very day. In it's time many may have seen this video game fad as fleeting and destined for the dumps like the gaming craze of the early 80's. However, this movie, in trying to capture so much actually did give us a picture of what our futures held. Today gaming is everywhere, it's undeniable. And along with the presence of video games, everyday human drama has continued to unfold. As a result, kids and adults, find themselves turning to video games to escape, and to socialize. In this way, The Wizard is, to me, much more than a jumbled mess of concepts. It is a story of today, told yesterday, that can never be told today.

My two cents, and first lengthy review.