Knights of Badassdom (2013)

Knights of Badassdom is a movie that simply put, it not for everybody. Honestly it might not be for a lot of people, which does work against it. However if you can look past the silliness, the poor effects, and the subject matter of the film, there is actually something really great here. I would say if you are interested in this one, go into it with lower expectations then you probably have. The Director of the film is not pleased with the final version, mostly due to how much it has changed from what was originally intended. The financiers did not care for the original cut, and basically refused to put the film out unless they got control over how it was put together. What we are now given is their cut of the film, and it is not one without issues. The reasons given for this, was hopefully to make the film appeal to a larger audience, but honestly I think it had the opposite effect.

The story at its core, is a about a break up. Joe (Ryan Kwanten) has just been dumped by his girlfriend. Her reasoning made no sense to me, as she was upset he lived with his friend who was a millionaire, and more then happy to fund Joe's life. Joe just writes heavy metal songs, has his dream job, and lives in a castle with his 2 best friends. Honestly how is that not the perfect life? But his girlfriend wants more from him, she wan'ts him to change his life to fit what she thinks is the proper mold. Joe is saddened and his friends Eric (Steve Zahn) and Hung (Peter Dinklage) abduct him, and bring him to a weekend long LARP event without his consent. Before we continue I would like to point out weekend long LARP events are a real thing, and I am pissed off nobody told me this before now. As Joe has not played in years, his character is considered dead. They have to do a resurrection ceremony to revive him, and Eric being a level 26 Wizard is the guy for the job.

*LARP is Liave Action Role Play. Basically imagine Dungeons and Dragons but played out in real life. People get in costume, decide on classes and jobs, and make large foam weapons. They then have actual fights and large scale battles with each other. Having never actually experienced it myself, it looks like the best thing ever. Back to the story....

Eric uses a old book he bought off of ebay, written in a language he doesn't understand, because it makes the spell sound cooler. He also sings it, well because it makes it more entertaining for us. The spell book turns out to be real, and they instead summon a Succubus into the world. She starts killing off the gamers, and our heroes have to use there medieval skills to defeat her.

If you are wondering if this movie is for you, let me ask you this. Did you know what LARP was before, and does it interest you? Do you like Metal, and do you think it could be used as a script for casting a spell? Does seeing Peter Dinklage in full LARP gear, high on shrooms teaming up with Danny Pudi (Abed from Community) sound awesome to you?

Let me talk about Peter Dinklage for a moment. I don't watch Game of Thrones, it is not on hulu and I don't have cable. I have read the books though, and I have seen many clips on youtube and other places. Dinklage is one of the high points from what I have seen, and he continues that trend in this movie. He is the main source of comedy, and you can tell he really had a great time filming this. We see him running around with his swords screaming at the top of his lungs. He really just gets into it, and comes off over the top, but in a good way. Add in that his character is on druges the whole film, and it just takes it up to another level. We see him trying to act like a badass one moment, then putting flowers in his hair the next. Other stand out roles were Danny Pudi, who could have used more screen time, but was entertaining none the less. Summer Glau played one of the main roles, and while she didn't really do anything to make her stand out, she was by no means bad in this. Steve Zahn was about what you would expect from his previous work. He was humorous, and did well as one of the main focus points of the film. He does not come across as one of the strongest actors in the film, but he greatly fits his role. He really does seem like the kind of guy who would spend his weekends out in the woods playing these games. I think he was a great casting choice.

The special effects in this movie range from good, to god awful. The Succubus kills people in gory fashions, and that always looked great. However the later half of the film includes a demonic presence that is comprised entirely of CGI and just looks awful and fake. There is also a huge showdown at the end, which should have easily been the strongest scene in the film. Ryan Kwanten sings a heavy metal ballad to summon a undead Warrior to fight the Demon in a duel. Honestly that line alone would have gotten me to buy the dvd, so it is a shame it looked so fake when it does happen. Still a great scene and good fun, but it was not as good as it easily could have been.

A cool idea for a film with some minor issues. A directors cut is a dream of mine, though I don't know if we will ever get one. Peter Dinklage kills it and makes every scene he is in infinitely better. The movie uses a cast that will appeal to its core audience, people who know who Summer Glau is, and portrays LARPing in what I consider a positive way. Ryan Kwanten won me over, and while he is not actually singing those songs, he owns that last scene with his performance. Knights of Badassdom is not a horrible movie, it is just a missed opportunity. What we receive is likely the only version we will ever see. While it is different from its intended form, that does not mean there is nothing to enjoy here. Give it a watch, have some laughs, and just enjoy it for what it is. A decent film about why being a nerd is not a bad thing.