Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

N. N. "Hands of Fate" is quite an endeavour in terms of telling a story that people might not like to listen to, but it is a very good film.I liked "Dorkness Rising" better, pretty much like most people prefer youth to old age. The first two films were only slightly exaggerated reports on role players, this on the other hand is a fantasy, that is a parable that is supposed to make you dream as opposed to grin, about meaning that people build up for themselves, and about letting go of that, when it's all just mere self indulgence, i.e. this is not a film about how ridiculous gamers are, but how sad it feels to let go of this world.Now, in my case, it's some 25 years back that I went through this, so I'm not troubled by this anymore and can look at a rather clever film in an observing way, for there are some good points to behold: 1. That RPG made room for LARP, although the latter is far more restricted.The reason for this is, and it's a bitter one, that humans will work together when you make them accept the rules first, even when the rules are somewhat dumb, but will be unable to come together, when you give them too much freedom choosing the rules themselves.In the film this shows in the contrast between being able to design your own character and play characters written on cards. But it is the latter standardisation, which allows a common universe to grow.This is truly meaningful, one of the most depressing things of human existence, people throw themselves into chains and progress and you as a free person never get involved in anything, at least not how you'd want to.2. The absence of meaning in modern life and the addictiveness of the drug to create your own in your head alone, resp. in the heads of a collective.And this is even more bitter. At least the RPG folks can eventually silently acknowledge the futility of it all. But the LARP guys are in stronger chains and drive themselves into insanity, as the Ninja Dragon episode most overtly shows, but it's also in other things, like when the bleeder gets punched in the nose in a situation that any sane person would understand as asking for a fight.And again, it's quite general. You stand alone, you might resign like Schopenhauer would suggest, you're part of a group, you defend Berlin until the end.3. Selling you your humanity.Giving you a chance to build up meaning for a buck as is the theme of the whole Legacy episode.In real life that would be states, telling their "citizens" their respective narratives. So you can be a good Communist, American or what have you.Well... that's all bittersweet, bitter because of the designs you can't choose, sweet because of the life that you spent in them.To be honest, I can't give these kind of films 10/10, no matter how good. Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" for instance or Tarkovsky's "Offret" and this film is even better than those.I mean, what would that be? An excellently depressing film? There's a hint of perversion in that notion.

siderite From the forty-five minute The Gamers, through the one hour and a half The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, we get the two hour long Hands of Fate. It starts with the same team as in the second film, all happily playing their D&D game, only to be thwarted by cell phone rings "from work". It made me think that it will be a continuation of Dorkness, made in the same vein: the mature gamers who can't really play their game with reality intruding. I was wrong.Soon enough we realize that reality has intruded way too much. They are not able to play the role playing game anymore. They are barely meeting once a year and then they never manage to end the game. Enter Natalie, a CCG player with a real passion for a card game with a storyline and a real nice face. Cass immediately falls for her and proceeds to learn to play the game. The entire movie is then about the fantasy land of the CCG game.I don't want to spoil anything, so I will not reveal anything more about the plot. Enough said that the ending is reminiscent of the first Gamers film and that, even if at first I thought it was going to turn into a sort of weird documentary of what happens at Gen Con and I really really hated the Gary subplot where he is trying to kill the mascot of the show that replaced his childhood favorite, I ended up liking it.I especially appreciated that Cass is as much a noob at card collectible games as I am and has the same disdain towards them as me, but as the movie unfolds, he gets to understand and respect the game, so I get to identify and evolve with the character while I am watching. I loved that.Not that everything is dandy dory: most of the acting is completely over the top and some scenes did make me cringe. However the overall feel of the movie, the fact that most of the geekiness made sense and the subtle humor made me like the experience. A bit too long (just make a Director's cut without Gary's story! :) ), but enjoyable nonetheless. I do miss the free fantasizing of the D&D game, though.

sethmd73 I am one of the 4,311 people who helped make (at the time) The Gamers: Hands of Fate the largest crowdfunded movie via Kickstarter. As a fan and follower of Dead Gentlemen Productions and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, I knew going in that this was going to be a very different story than its predecessors: The Gamers (2002) and The Gamers: Dorkness Rising (2008). That said, you know I've got both rose colored glasses as a fan, and a critical eye as someone who threw money at this to get it made.There are several stories intertwined here: Cass (Brian Lewis) trying to win a date with Natalie (Trin Miller); Joanna (Carol Roscoe) dealing with an anticipated marriage proposal from Lodge (Nathan Rice); Gary (Christian Doyle) confronting Chibichan, the dreaded destroyer of his favorite T.V. show; and the card game characters Myriad (Samara Lerman) and Dundareel (Jesse Lee Keeter) having to deal with the fate that has been handed to them; just to name a few. The story weaves very well from beat to beat and it is easy to follow the flow.Overall, I was not disappointed with my investment, writer Matt Vancil does a fantastic job setting pieces in motion and the entire ensemble steps up and delivers. Every actor, especially the supporting actors, have some great moments to shine. It is not a cheeky gamer comedy, but an enjoyable drama. I agree with other reviewers that Gary's story starts out funny and the denouement is also good, but gets a bit too dark. Finally, kudos to Steven Wolbrecht who pieced together a very nice score and some memorable songs. I look forward to backing the next one.

fettguy1138 As a fan of all works by Dead Gentlemen Productions and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, I was unsure of what to expect with this movie. At a convention panel earlier this year, ZOE showed the first 5 minutes of the film. They also let us know that they would be doing something different with this one. Previous movies have followed a singular storyline, with different plot points along the way. In this installment, characters each kind of follow their own story lines, each to be explored individually. The movie centers around Cass: an "I'm better than these dorks" kind of gamer who breaks most of the stereotypes. He learns to play a CCG (or TCG, depending on your lexicon) to impress a girl. His adventure takes him through character development and growth, and he is a little less douchy for it.Lodge, Joanna, Gary and Leo are all there in some capacity, but much less than in other films. Their story lines are going to be explored in a number of ways by ZOE in the future. Gary provides a good amount of comic relief, but shows a more sensitive side during this film.When I first watched this movie, I appreciated what ZOE did with their budget. Seeing truly creative people get some serious funding allows them to show what they can do. True, this movie wasn't as funny as other Gamers movies, but it was more whole. It showed that even the most elite Gamer can grow, and that forgiveness can be found in the most unlikely of places. Overall, this movie was a better movie than any previous Gamers flick. I can't wait to see the stories that surround the rest of the gang's GenCon experience.Worth the time? Absolutely Worth the money? Definitely