Arcade (1993)

Synopsis

A new virtual reality game has just been released at Dante's Inferno and it wants more than your quarters...it wants you.

Thoughts

The closest thing I've ever got to going to anything that resembled an arcade was a Celebration Station, Dave & Buster's and the Wal-Mart game room. Sad, I know, but when arcades were all the rage, I was still a little kid. There are arcade bars in Chicago that I was lucky enough to visit, but it's just not the same. I have to admit though, having a refreshing 16 ounce craft beer while playing Smash TV and Addams Family pinball is a dream come true. On another note, after I saw Arcade, I was kind of terrified and somewhat glad I never got to go to an arcade. 

Arcade is the Bishop of Battle for the 90's. An inspiration for future video game films (Brainscan, see?). The main difference between Arcade and Brainscan was that the Arcade really "sucked in" the players where Brainscan was all in the player's head. I think what added to the terror for a nine year old was the fact that Arcade was available to play at home. Not in real life, which would actually be pretty awesome, but in the movie. Yeah, take your fate home and hook it right up to your television for some good ol' fashioned home soul sucking. What a treat! Not only that, only your friends will give damn. Does anyone in this movie have any parents? I can only assume none of their parents would believe them anyways. Pretty much the theme for teenagers in 90's movies anyway. Also, why is it just this one group of teenagers being taken by Arcade? Wasn't that arcade packed full of other teenagers? Was the game that terrifying to the others there that only the main cast of teens were brave enough to play it? Likely story. 

It was nice to see Ralphie, I mean, Peter Billingsley in this. For a B-rated movie, it was kind of surprising that the acting wasn't completely terrible. You'd think that with some pretty terrible dialogue, the acting would follow suit. Not bad, though. 

I will forever, jokingly of course, swear that George Lucas stole his pod racing scene for the unbearable Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace from Arcade. The pod crashes look awfully reminiscent of the skull hover ship crash in Arcade. With that being said, the graphics are so terrible to look at in this film, that they somehow make the movie great. So, for 1993, the effects were pretty awesome. Again, I was only nine when I first saw it, so of course they looked mind blowing. For today, purely nostalgic. I enjoy watching Arcade still, but I do find myself laughing more and more as each year passes. That doesn't necessarily mean I think it's a bad movie now, but it's one of those movies that was definitely better as a kid. 

Arcade is worth checking out if you're into the whole video games coming to life and taking your soul, or even if you just want a history lesson in old school visual effects. Well, that and to see Seth Green before gracing us on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and with Robot Chicken. 

IMDB: 5.3/10

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A (Audience - 2.8/5)

WeFLM: 5/10

Come for Ralphie. Stay for the game play. 

-kp