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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Wreck-It Ralph



First off, I've reached over 3000 views! It's amazing how that managed to happen despite my absence. It just goes to show that I have some dedicated fans that never fail to make me smile! Thanks to you all poppets (yeah I'm in one of "those" moods) for sticking with me despite my lazy fingers.



Now....

ON TO WRECK-IT RALPH!

. . . .

I really struggled with what to say for this review because of my mixed personality. From the side of a reviewer I could see some flaws in this film (many steaming from it's trailer that aimed the plot of the movie in a far different direction than where is actually went), but from the view of a fangirl with both a passion for video games and cute, sugary concoctions (I promise I'll elaborate on that later) I was sucked into this game like all of us  zombified gamers have been known to do when a new Diablo game drops (Minus, perhaps the nerd rage at errors).

No disrespect meant, my man.
I freak out when my Amateur Surgeon 2 App does't work on my Iphone  
With all that said, I'm going to try my best to address both of my opinions, both as a reviewer and a gamer in hopes that I can reach some logical conclusion about how this movie ultimately made me feel and what you can expect it to do for you.

Let's start with the flaws of this movie to get all the negative energy out of the way. Well, maybe it's not fair for me to say this is going to be a negative critisim. Perhaps we are looking for the word frustrated. Having watched the trailer for this movie, I though Wreck-it Ralph was going to be about Ralph, a video game villain wanting more out of life (in true Disney fashion) and deciding to go to the game Heroes Duty (Every pun IS intended) and proving he can save the day. (SPOILERS AHEAD) Well that is exactly what this movie does, for about 10 minutes of it's runtime.

No, Ralph quickly overcomes the challenges of Heroes Duty (which really makes me question it's true difficulty for a game advertised to be a Super Meat Boy style grinder....my pun intended) and accidentally ends up in the almost sickeningly sweet racer game, Sugar Rush. It is in this game that we spend the majority of the movie. This is where my conflict comes in. I'm sure plenty of hardcore gamers went to this game expecting a solid tribute to video game nostalgia and were met with wacky worlds of original creation. Don't get me wrong, Sugar Rush certainly gave me the feel of Snowboard Kids if it was dipped in bubblegum and sprinkles. Still, I worried that some of the guys out there would be turned off by it's candy coated sentiment. I honestly would love to hear my male fan base's opinion on this setting choice. Ralph's main companion through the movie is an overly adorable little girl/glitch name Vanellope.

Okay...with all that said....my inner fangirl needs to come out and say this very clearly. This movie isn't perfect. It has a pretty predictable story and we all know exactly how it's going to end, but you know what? I LOVED it. Call me a girly girl if you need, but I adored Sugar Rush and would play it in a heart beat if it was a real game and/or if I had any skills in racer games. I loved Vanellope even when she could be a little annoying with her banter. I genuinely felt for her, a humble little glitch looking to belong, much like Ralph.

I also appreciated the subtle nods to the greats of games. I won't spoil them all for you (But please post all the cameos you noticed!) but it tickled me pink how much love and knowledge of games went into the background of this film. I'm sure that Sugar Rush was the better setting vs. Heroes Duty because parents would find it nonthreatening (less video game violence) and this movie would appeal to girls just as much as it does to boys.

If there is one thing I can really appreciate about this movie is that it could possible turn more girls on to video games. And in a society where more of us girls are slowly working over to the dark side, I couldn't be happier.

So over all, if you are looking to have simple, sugary fun this movie with hug your at your gamer core, if you are looking for a lot of deep substance with a fresh plot or non-stop video game intensity, this movie might not be your cup of tea.

Now for a change of pace, something ridiculously girly/warped to balance me out ^_^

(Would you love me any other way?)

Tootles Darlings!
Xo

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