Level Up (2011)

Film Title: Level Up
Released: November 23, 2011
Directed by: Peter Lauer
Written by: Derek Guiley & David Schneiderman

Starring: Gaelan Connell, Connor Del Rio, Jessie Usher & Aimee Carrero

Plot: A group of disparate online gamers must band together when villains from their favorite video game invade the real world.

IMDb: 4.3/10
My Score: 2/5

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Level Up, released on DVD with the subtitle The Movie, served as a pilot for a television series of the same name that ran on Cartoon Network for two seasons starting in January 2012. Three walking high school clichés (Gaelan Connell as the geek, Connor Del Rio as the goof-off slacker and Jessie Usher as the popular jock) all have one thing in common: they all play a World of Warcraft-like MMORPG (or massive multi-player online role playing game, for the uninitiated) called Maldark: Conqueror of All Worlds. Not only do they play the game but they are all in the same clan and go to the same school but have no idea of their true identities in the real world. The film opens with a janitor accidentally bouncing a beam of energy from some kind of device on a military base off of a satellite and hitting a room full of computer servers. Then we are introduced to the main characters, who all hate each other and are made fun of individually for playing the game. Later that night they all log on and play the game together, enter a new area and defeat a dragon (which is later stated represents the server's firewall). This action, coupled with the beam earlier, allows the game's eponymous villain, Maldark (George Faughnan), to send his minions into the real world. It also conversely allows the the teens to enter the video game world and bring their weapons with them back into reality. The trio must eschew the high school social structure and band together to defeat the threat and save their town. Helping them out are a fellow high-schooler/gaming noob (Aimee Carrero, a girl!) and the neurotic creator/designer of the game (Eric André). The interesting, if not entirely original, premise is really wasted with bad jokes, some terrible acting and an awful script full of embarrassing stereotypes of high school cliques and role paying games. Watcher beware. Here's a trailer for the movie with a short peek behind the scenes.