This groundbreaking film is truly a work of art. I went into the screening at the convention in Indiana with very low expectations, having already viewed 2 other film with "gamer" in the title (both of which were so bad that by the end of the second one I had plucked out one of my own eyes with my drinking straw and a twisted paper clip I found between the seat cushions). But from the opening credits "Dorkness" had me. The temperate Northwest setting made a beautiful backdrop for the drama surrounding the frustrated game master, Lodge(powerfully portrayed by Nathan Rice) and his misfit band of friends who set aside the real-life dramas they face everyday to face fantastical dramas in the setting Lodge provides for them. After the first scene(set in the fantasy world they inhabit) They are violently thrust back into the world they so desperately try to escape. This drew so many comparisons to my own life that I was moved to tears. Rice's acting is of such amazing caliber that I truly believed within the first 20 minutes of the film that he really was a twenty-something male suffering from frustration, male pattern baldness and an annoying group of "friends" that can't seem to grasp concepts like right and wrong. Lodge's friends are of some note here: Leo, the oldest and heaviest of the trio seems to be the only other character with a job, aside from lodge. Yet he seems to gravitate socially towards Gary, the youngest of the group. This seems only slightly odd at first until you realize that Gary is, in fact, a sexually confused sociopath with very few prospects outside his "fantasy" world. This dichotomy serves, not to confuse, but to inform and uplift the audience about the importance of diversity in our society. My only complaint about this is that the actors who portray Leo (Scott C. Brown) and Gary (christian Doyle) seem to play the characters for laughs at times, as though they were informed they were acting in a comedy instead of a hard-hitting action/drama. Speaking of action, Brian Lewis makes his film debut as Cass, the third and most influential member of Lodge's motley crew. the tension is always high when he is on screen, both when he is arguing passionately about his beliefs to Lodge or when displaying his fantastic Martial Arts skills as "Silence" his fantasy character. Or even when he turns around suddenly to face the audience and you reflexively duck in the audience so as not to get smacked by his fantastic chin. Lewis Lights up the screen no matter what he's doing and I hope to see more of him in the future. Once the action begins in this movie, it just doesn't quit. the drama and the action blend so seamlessly at times that you can's tell whether your in the middle of a frenetic action sequence or a touching dramatic moment. Truly a thrill ride of Epic proportions, I would recommend "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising" as required viewing for anyone who loves film. It was almost worth losing an eye over.~Chip Deedlenick
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