Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie

Plot

In 1983, 2 million copies of the "worst video game of all time", ET (referred to as "Eee Tee" for copyright reasons) for the Atari 2600, are dumped into a landfill outside Alamogordo, New Mexico. In the present day, game executive Mandi (Sarah Glendening) of Cockburn Industries, Inc. proposes to her bosses creating an intentionally bad sequel, EeeTee 2. Thanks to the popularity and success of the Angry Video Game Nerd, sales of poorly made video games have increased dramatically, and a review of EeeTee 2 by the Nerd would drive his fans to buy the game.

The Nerd (James Rolfe) and his sidekick Cooper Folly (Jeremy Suarez) are working on a video game review. The Nerd has become disheartened over the years, as his fans continue to buy and play the games he reviews and warns people to stay away from. On top of this, the Nerd must promote and sell bad video games as part of his job at GameCops. When he discovers marketing for EeeTee 2, his fans encourage him to review ET, something he has stood against for years because the game scarred him as a child. After some personal thought, the Nerd decides to go to Alamogordo to debunk the conspiracy surrounding the buried cartridges. He is accompanied by Cooper and Mandi, and the trip is completely funded by Cockburn Industries.

While filming their expedition, Cooper reveals that he believes in a super-being known as Death Mwauthzyx, who has the power to destroy all existence. Sergeant McButter (Helena Barrett) and the legless General Dark Onward (Stephen Mendel), thinking the trio is looking for extraterrestrials, attempt to capture them. Onward accidentally blows his right arm off with a grenade, giving the trio enough time to escape.

The Nerd, Cooper and Mandi search for the creator of ET, Howard Scott Warshaw, for answers. They instead stumble across the home of Dr. Zandor (Time Winters), who tells them that ET's level design is an exact map of Area 51. Dr. Zandor gave the code to Warshaw to help him meet the five-week deadline Atari set for ET's completion, and to exact revenge on the government for kidnapping and holding hostage an alien he was attempting to free. The government ordered the burial of the cartridges, while Zandor escaped with the metallic material Area 51 was researching at the time in an attempt to reassemble the alien's spaceship, replacing it with tin foil. Mandi is captured by McButter while wandering outside of the house. The Nerd and Cooper, believing she is a double agent, do not go after her.

Going back to the Alamogordo site, the Nerd and Cooper discover a large crowd of fans and the head of Cockburn Industries promoting the release of ET 2 with the promise of digging out a copy of the original ET from the site. The Nerd tells his fans there are no cartridges buried there, but Warshaw himself appears and tells fans the opposite. Annoyed, the Nerd breaks into Area 51 disguised as an alien. He is captured, and General Onward attempts to force him to play ET. Onward launches a missile at Mount Fuji, the basis for the Atari logo, and while leaving the room, gets his left arm cut off in the door. During the launch countdown, an alien resembling the one in ET grabs the Nerd and pulls him to safety.

The destruction of Mount Fuji releases Death Mwauthzyx, who was trapped inside the mountain. Meanwhile, Mandi keeps McButter away from the Nerd and Cooper's location, eventually leading them to a confrontation on the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas.

The Nerd and alien escape in a fighter jet similar to one in the NES Top Gun video game, while the alien reveals Death Mwauthzyx can destroy all existence by turning the satellite dish on his head. Cooper is captured by Death Mwauthzyx and brought to Las Vegas, where Mandi knocks McButter off the Eiffel Tower to her death. Mandi is also captured by Death Mwauthzyx. The Nerd and Alien crash-land at the Alamogordo site, where a captured Dr. Zandor shouts to them that he hid the alien's spaceship metal inside the millions of ET game cartridges. Alien summons every single copy of the game to form the spaceship. The Nerd and Alien leave for Las Vegas to stop Death Mwauthzyx. The armless General Onward is killed when attempting to stop them.

The Nerd fires a laser at Death Mwauthzyx's satellite dish, causing Death Mwauthzyx to disappear forever. They return to the Alamogordo site and reunite with Dr. Zandor and the Nerd's fans. Cooper and Mandi share a kiss, while the Nerd finally reviews ET during the end credits for his fans before the Alien leaves for good.

Development

James Rolfe had spent much of his life aspiring to be a professional feature filmmaker, and saw popularity of the AVGN web series the opportunity to fulfill this ambition. Development of the film began in late 2006, following the popularity of The Angry Video Game Nerd web series, with the completion of the screenplay by 2008. E.T. game designer Howard Scott Warshaw hinted in an article in GamesTM magazine that he would be playing himself in the movie. Production of the film was delayed for several years due to the busy production schedule of Rolfe's AVGN web series, wherein Rolfe was continuously filming two episodes per month.

The film's budget of more than US$325,000 was secured entirely via Internet crowdfunding, Indiegogo. Filming in California started April 1, 2012, and wrapped on May 11, 2012. Additional scenes were being filmed in the actors' spare time, mainly in Philadelphia. Production officially ended December 2013.

Rolfe consistently utilized online articles and videos to document the movie's development and to solicit talent for casting and crew. Open casting calls were held, including one hosted by Channel Awesome held in Chicago, with live auditions held by one of the film's actors, Doug Walker, also the actor of the Nostalgia Critic. Rolfe asked for his fanbase to provide fictional webcam footage of themselves reacting to the Nerd's webseries to be used in a sequence at the beginning of the film which introduces the Angry Video Game Nerd character.

Using the Panasonic AG-AF100 camera, James Rolfe chose to use mostly practical special effects for the film's 942 visual effects shots, creating the majority by filming miniatures in front of a green screen which were then later digitally composited into the film. Though this process was more time consuming than using CGI, Rolfe believed that the use of scale models would help add to the film’s B movie feel.

The game's review featured in the end credits was later released as a stand-alone episode of The Angry Video Game Nerd web series, featuring the game under its proper title rather than the "Eee Tee" spoof used in the film, which was used to avoid legal dispute from copyright holders of the film the video game is based on.

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by Bear McCreary, who had previously worked with Rolfe on the webseries Christmas special "How The Nerd Stole Christmas". McCreary utilized rock-and-roll music, heavy metal music, a symphonic orchestra, and synthesized elements from NES, SNES, and SEGA Genesis hardware to compose the score. The album features two remixes by McCreary, as well as two songs written by his brother Brendan McCreary and performed by his band Young Beautiful in a Hurry. The album was released on the iTunes Store on September 2, 2014.

All music was composed by McCreary, except where otherwise noted.

Reception

Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie received generally mixed reviews from critics. The Hollywood Reporter called it an "overly long and almost obsessively self-indulgent" and "aspiring cult film" with production value which "hovers above home-video quality by a few admirable notches", noting that the "filmmakers manage to capably anchor these disparate storylines to their central plot concerning crusading gamers".

The Michigan Daily student newspaper of the University of Michigan gave this film a mostly negative review, describing it as unfunny, poorly edited, badly paced, and too long. This review argued that the soundtrack by Bear McCreary was good and the best aspect of the film. The reviewer noted that The Angry Video Game Nerd was "the pioneering internet 'gamer' show", which he had enjoyed greatly, so the film was a "disappointing failure".