MAX CLOUD – “Fun retro video game shenanigans”

Max Cloud

RATING

DIRECTOR

Martin Owen

STARRING

  • Scott Adkins as Max Cloud
  • John Hannah as Revengor
  • Lashana Lynch as Shee
  • Elliot James Langridge as Jake
  • Tommy Flanagan as Brock Donnelly
  • Franz Drameh as Cowboy
  • Sam Hazeldine as Tony

SYNOPSIS

When a teenage gamer accidentally opens a portal into her favorite side-scroller, she becomes trapped in a notorious intergalactic prison, home to the galaxy's most dangerous villains. To escape, she must finish the game with a little help from her not-so-savvy friend on the outside -- or remain a 16-bit character forever.

REVIEW SUMMARY

Despite its overly familiar setup, Max Cloud still manages to deliver a handful of fun retro video game shenanigans. And yes, at first glance this will all seem very close to the current day Jumanji films, but trust me, it has enough original charm to make it its own. And to be clear, this movie is very much a comedy – a purposely campy one at that. Sure, you will find plenty of action moments, but they are mostly cloaked in comedic situations. And frankly, it works - for the most part that is. The movie loses its uniqueness rather quickly unfortunately, as the second half veers into “been there, done that” territory. The ending is goofy and overly predictable, but again fits with the overall tone. It helps that the actors are game (pardon the pun), with Scott Adkin’s titular alpha hero particularly pulled off rather well. And did I mention this is set in the early 90’s? So needless to say, if you grew up glued to your console playing adventure games in the decade that gave us gems like Street Fighter and Tomb Raider, then this is a definite must watch. For everyone else, I say plug it in, press start and give it a go!

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