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Video-game icon Mario, of Super Mario Brothers
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The breakthrough 1980 videogame ‘Pac-Man’
This film’s opening images are like Proustian madeleines for Gen-Xers, who grew up in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Or maybe a Pac-Man power pellet is a more appropriate image.
After seeing glimpses of the greats — Defender, Q*bert, Tempest, BurgerTime, Donkey Kong — we get a smart, if not linear, history. “Video Games” bounces back and forth between the forefathers at Atari, the kick of that company’s 2600, the challenging phase of Nintendo and the hyper-leap into Xbox, Wii and “World of Warcraft.”
We learn about “two-bit memory” (the basic technology that makes it all possible), get glimpses into gaming culture and hear from lots and lots of talking heads. They include the film’s coproducer, Zach Braff, and “Chronicle” screenwriter Max Landis.
The modern stuff is undeniably fawning. But given the eye-popping visuals, you understand the enthusiasm. Especially if you left your heart, and thousands of dollars in quarters, in an arcade.
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