The Wizard

This is a movie I used to love when I was a kid. I used to watch it religiously, not really because I liked it because even then I knew it sucked, but because of the video games. Yep, I was one of those kids who played NES when I finished my homework. So other than seeing footage of great games like Ninja Gaiden, Double Dragon and Super Mario Brothers 3 (best NES game ever), this movie bites. It’s about a retarded kid named Jimmy who has a master talent at playing video games, so his brother, played by Fred Savage, sneaks him away from a sanitarium for kids (the easiest escape ever?) on the way to a video game tournament. They get help from a redhead girl, but they face many obstacles, like redneck bullies, a very creepy guy who makes money looking for lost kids, and *sigh* Lucas…
As I said, other than the novelty of watching footage of video games when you’re a kid, there’s not much to recommend. The movie features a good cast, with Fred Savage, Christian Slater, Beau Bridges, all good actors. Sadly the material they are given is nowhere near their talent. This is basically a feature-length commercial not just for Nintendo, but for Universal Studios, which opened the same year in Orlando. Hell there’s even a very pointless action scene where they basically show you the Universal tour, even with that lame King Kong ride.
I have to take some time to talk about Lucas. One of the cheesiest villains in the history of movies, he’s a kid with a small mullet who’s a God at gaming. He looks like one of those kids that always looked too cool for school in those old Nintendo Power ads. He also plays with a Power Glove, in what could be the only time I’ve ever seen the damn thing work. I used to have one and it sucked. You know what also sucks? The music. It’s pure eighties even if it was 1990 by then. It seems like every single diner/pharmacy only plays New Kids On The Block songs, and there’s a very awkward montage to Real Life’s “Send Me An Angel”. What the hell? I like this song, but it just gave it an awkward, dare I say pedophiliac tone. So don’t be fooled by nostalgia, this movie sucks.