Knights of badassdom - Me and 132 of my friends where able to get Tugg.com to bring the movie to Phoenix, Arizona February 4th at the AMC desertridge. About 30 of us showed up in costume (garb) to watch this before it was released. I will give a spoiler free review:

Basic Plot: LARPer's (Live Action Role Playing) conjure up a demon from Hell played by Margarita Levieva during a weekend get together for the LARP group. Eric (Steve Zahn) and Hung (Peter Dinklage) are trying to cheer up their friend, room-mate and former D&D player Joe (Ryan Kwanten) who has just broken up with his girlfriend Beth.

The movie pokes fun at anyone who has ever done D&D, LARP, SCA, etc but coming from a person who does this for fun I can tell you it was a great fun movie.

There is Mild (think Evil Dead) gore in a few scenes, Drug use (Pot and Mushrooms), brief implied nudity (sideboob), mild violence and language. If you liked roll models and the evil dead, have ever LARPed or had a friend who did and wanted you to join them for a weekend of "fun" this movie was made for you.

This is one of those movies that is "so bad it's good" and that made it awesome! Also digging the soundtrack.

Update: Watched a second time -
So I was thinking about this and wondering if my review was skewed because of a couple things. First, I was a little drunk. Not falling down drunk, but I would not be able to drive a car. Second, I watched this with a group of friends. These two combined made me wonder if the booze and my friends laughing made me laugh more. Well, in an effort to be thorough, I watched it again last night. Just me, winding down after work, stone sober. And you know what, still funny!

I fully admit that there are numerous random plots points that were not explained that might have made the movie flow better. But that could have also led to the movie being too long and slowing down too much. But here is what made the movie awesome, to me:
1. Danni Pudi - Since I really like the show Community, this was a instant win.
2. Summer Glau - what can I say, she has such a sexy "nerd girl" look and when she smirks = awesome.
3. Peter Dinklage - I liked the Station Agent, but really I think GOT has made him that much more awesome. He puts the Imp in Pimp and is still awesome and funny in this movie! And without being too "spoilery", his final battle scene was just epic!
4. The music - Really the soundtrack overall is ok, but what sold the movie was the "final battle scene" and how the song plays into it. Just trust me, it makes no sense at all, but it is awesome nonetheless!
5. The other actors all did well, but the 3 I called out really made the movie. The Stackhouse guy from True Blood and Steve Zahn were funny/cool as well, but the first 3 sold it for me.

Awesome, diverse, and talented cast of men and women. It is good to see some great nerdy movies. Peter, Ryan, and Steve must have been friends before this movie because their buddy relationshiP emulates throughout. I have been waiting for this movie to come out for over a year, and it did not disappoint.

Plot

Joe (Ryan Kwanten) becomes despondent after his girlfriend breaks up with him so his friends Hung (Peter Dinklage) and Eric (Steve Zahn) take him to a medieval role playing camp where he meets Gwen (Summer Glau) and her cousin Gunther (Brett Gipson). Joe is reluctant at first to get into the festivities, but he comes around in the end. Then something goes horribly awry when Eric unknowingly uses black magic to summon a demon who looks like Joe’s ex-girlfriend. She goes on a murderous path of destruction and it seems like there is no way to defeat her. Should they run to the hills or should Joe and his teammates band together to stop her before she begins killing the rest of their fellow gamers?

Character Development

There is virtually no character development here. Everyone seemed unaffected by what happened to them and just carries on. Other than Joe getting over his girlfriend nothing really happens. This is not a film of personal growth.

Acting

The comic timing seemed to be in sync for the most part. The lead actors did a fine job with what material they were given. Because everything was played for laughs none of the scenes where taken seriously, even when characters were faced with the threat of death. Under these circumstances this was not the realm to test anyone’s acting skills. Yet I don’t believe I have ever seen Steve Zahn in a serious acting role, though he always seems at home playing the comedic part.

Overview

Despite what appears to be a low budget production that seems to be filmed over a short period of time this movie was very entertaining for the most part. For its comical aspirations don’t fall flat.Read more ›

This movie is awesome! If you are a gamer or know a gamer and can enjoy a movie that is not going to pose deep philosophical issues then this is a great movie for you.

It is in-line with movies like "Unicorn City," "the Last Lovecraft," and "Dorkness Rising." If you saw and liked these films then again this film is for you.

If you despise gamers, geeks, and anything not on NPR then you will *hate* this movie.

Read on, but beware as spoilers follow.

First, your expectations have to be in the correct range.

This is not game of thrones level film direction and script quality. This is an all-star cast in a movie about geeks doing geeky gamer things. You can tell from the clear ad libs that many of these stars have been in gaming venues previously and liked it.

The jokes are bad, bad, bad, but they are *supposed to be*.

Nothing is sacred in this movie, and, while the jokes are discrete, many of the politically correct things in these current United States are poked at pretty shamelessly.

Second, don't fall in love with any particular character -- most of them are killed off by the middle of the film. Just say'in.

Well done!

Huz-zah!!!!