eHero (2018) Poster

(2018)

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6/10
Aimed at Gamers, lacks the quality finish
stonej66631 May 2018
First of all this film is not terrible. It's a film aimed at a specific market of gamers. You have never seen a film like this so specific towards gamers, I don't mean like ready player one either, I mean the life of an actual pro gamer going from tournament to tournament.

Now the story is ok, it's simple and easy to follow, there is some character and relationship development but not that deep. The acting is ok, nobody you recognise (Sean Aston cameo) and with the script they all did an ok job, the pace is quite good and I wasn't ever bored. I think in the right hands with a bigger budget this could have been a hit. For example use a real game like Overwatch or Fortnite and get a couple of established stars and this could have been quite successful. Unfortunately without that this falls to much into the OK category and for that reason won't be seen by many or get good enough reviews.

Worth noting the director is like 19 years old and did a solid job by the looks of production. If your a gamer or have an interest in a view of the professional gaming lifestyle then I would recommend watching this.
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4/10
eHero: Hollywood eSports
Platypuschow19 January 2019
As an avid gamer I'm always disappointed there aren't more eSports and generally video game themed movies out there so I was quite excited at the prospect of eHero. I haven't enjoyed anything of this obscure sub-genre since the excellent Video Game Highschool (2012).

It tells the story of a young man (Aren't they always when it comes to gaming themed stuff) who after a high profile win gets the chance to join a team and really progress his eSports career.

Well first off consider me jealous, that would be right up there on my list of dream jobs but though it's increased on popularity I still have absolutely no faith in it as it's simply not taken seriously by enough people (The ones with money and power).

Now again I was looking forward to this, I thought it was likely to be a 90 accurate portrayal of someones journey into professional esports. Alas I was sorely mistaken.

eHero is Hollywood eSports, what I mean by that is instead of doing a standard realistic movie based on the industry they adopted all the usual sports movie tropes (To the letter) and threw ridiculous amounts of needless backstories and dramatics to keep people interested. We don't need that, we needed an enjoyable movie that tells a story within eSports not THAT!

If you've seen a sports movie, any sports movie at all then you'll know exactly how this is structured. Trouble is you know all the macho nonsense that usually goes with them? Yeah that's present here as well and simply shouldn't have been.

eHero on paper is something that I should have really enjoyed, it's something that quite frankly I crave. The end result? A cliched mess made by people who have absolutely no clue when it comes to gaming or eSports. And if I'm wrong and the people do know about those two things, then that is SO much worse.

Should be a movie for gamers, isn't.

The Good:

Decent concept

The Bad:

Unlikeable characters

Poor soundtrack

Opts for dramatics over realism
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1/10
Very too predictable, and how bout that role modeling?
the_doofy5 September 2018
A pure evil antagonist character, a damsel in distress, a pure good protagonist. The protagonist band of merry men. From this data U can write out the plot, just punch in a few scenes to flesh it out and add 30 minutes of first person shooter gaming filler.

For novelty have one of the merry men be a graphic die hard pot smoker, this is to show its ok for our gaming youth to embrace something that kills brain cells, they should have thrown in a positive spin for a teen age alcoholic as well.

I thought the acting was pretty good across the board, but in my book it was wasted on the 'just connect the dots' movie script
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Simply too cliched to be watch
wraith-king3 October 2020
While I'm a gamer and understand much of the 'culture' what I was looking for is a good movie. This could have been a good movie with gaming elements, would have been fine. It could have been a mediocre movie with excellent gaming elements and again it would be fine. It could be just average. Again I'm not difficult to please.

However what we got is a pure corn-cheese product that you can't finish the first 20 minutes of without thinking that submerging yourself in a vat of acid is much more preferable.

The problem is that first the premise is barely there. Aside from having PCs and that people game on them there is nothing there that belongs to the gaming culture or makes me as a gamer think: oh yeah. I get that. Pretty cool.

Apparently gaming is a sort of obscure thing that needs thousands of hours of research on a far away island in the middle of the ocean. So the director is excused for not portraying that.

So aside from a complete failure to do anything but reference gaming what do we get?

No characters No plot. Very cliched villain. Very cliched story.

The villain is pure cheese to the point that you wonder if they were trying to do an essay on boring villains.

Yes people. This happens and apparently the director decided to play in a no police mode. So the law does not exist.

If that is not enough the main character and overall plot has the same appeal a 2 week old half eaten maggot infested eggplant has.

Honestly there is nothing to watch here. A failure to be both a gaming movie and just a movie.

Some android indie games has more story and art than this let alone consoles and PC games or actual movies.

So save your time and go do something more entertaining like watching paint dry.
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1/10
Very poor plot
TheNonSmoker31 October 2020
In the first 2min you will understand this quality, this movie feels like some low budget inde college movie project
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10/10
Most authentic eSports movie I've ever seen.
KovaaK11 June 2018
EHero is basically a teen sports movie, if you replace sports with eSports. From start to finish the film is peppered with details that competitive gamers will appreciate, but it's still enjoyable by casual gamers and those who grew up watching siblings play games. The game of choice is "Reflex Arena" which is a First Person Shooter inspired by Quake. Outside of the movie, the Reflex developers and community came up huge in support for eHero to provide over 20 minutes of high quality choreographed game-play footage per the script that showcase frenetic action along with an attractive in-game art style across a variety of worlds.

The movie is in a weird place as far as budget goes as it is too big compared to most indie films, but way too small for Hollywood. A major production company with a larger budget may have been flashier with effects but left out certain struggles (no spoilers!) that professional gamers encounter. Although some people will inevitably bash aspects of the movie here and there, I think it hit the perfect mix of realism in gaming and drama.
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9/10
IMPRESSIVE AND WELL PUT TOGETHER!
socialtcookie27 June 2018
Actors were great! Storyline was very good. Characters were real and funny at times. The music throughout the movie was impressive. Gaming sections were fast and easy to follow with lots of action! I have a better understanding what drives so many gamers to reach the top. Very competitive. Love the tender love story. Overall, I really enjoyed watching the movie. I would highly recommend it!! Lastly, the Director pulled this one off. This is no easy topic.
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10/10
Excellent Movie about Esports and its Inner Workings
nednukesalot7 June 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I think this movie is great, it shows the hidden inner workings of esports that people don't see from the surface, sure the character of Jonathan 'Phantom' Spencer was written to be a bond villain of esports and it comes off as cheesy at times but there really isn't another way to have a rival character other than taking his job/sponsors and destroying him in a 1 versus 1. I loved how the movie portrayed throwing in the esports scene because it's a huge issue that is extremely overlooked from the outside looking in. When a professional team loses convincingly to a semi professional or even amateur team, something is sketchy. I also loved that eHero used a real game, Reflex Arena, rather than going the standard route and showing a fake game made up solely for the movies plot. Instead of the movie making things up, they played by the actual rules of the game and used real call-outs and I believe that attention to detail could only come from someone who cares very much about the esports scene. The in-game scenes in this movie are shot fantastically and so well-directed, props to Joseph Procopio. I think this movie, while at times unrealistic with some major plot points, hit the nail on the head with the smaller ones. Overall I think this movie is very enjoyable and I will for sure be watching it again.
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10/10
More Than A Game
OzzieLogozzo14 June 2018
It's just a game. Well, no! Gaming is addictive and destructive. Again, no! Food, sex, and drugs provide stronger dependencies than any game ever will. If you stare at the flashing computer screens, loud noises and arcade ambience, you missed the crux of this movie. This is educational gamification at its best brought to the big screen. The e-Hero storyline is a backdrop for a human journey trajectory that we can all identify with. This isn't simulation. It's reality with a brutality we would wish on no-one. I'm not a gamer. But I value the learning embodied in this movie about gaming. I'm not stimulated to invest in gaming apparatus. But I am intrigued by problems and patterns we all experience, in varying degrees, in our relationships. The story picked away at my expectations and preconceptions. It jived emotional climate. The entire experience was therapeutic. No, it's not just a game. Rather, it's a remarkable story with grit and resonance for any thoughtful observer.
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10/10
Ok, I'm starting to understand.
oldtelecaster23 August 2018
First of all, I'm not a gamer. Prior to viewing eHero, I knew nothing about the culture. Having seen the movie however, I think I have a degree of understanding of what gaming is about. For that aspect alone, I feel this movie is noteworthy. I love movies that are intriguing, coherent, and able to hold water. The character development is convincing and it was easy to find myself cheering for the good guys and despising the jerks. What a great ending!
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10/10
Captures the thrill of gaming
micheltoronto24 June 2018
I recommend this movie not just because I like to play egames, but because I really enjoyed watching. Entertaining and well made.
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8/10
Really evil villain
robertlfisher5 August 2018
We admire good, decent people, but to make a story gripping you need a nasty villain. eHero gains a lot of emotion from the character, Jonathan Spencer (Sean Colby), an especially cruel young man totally eaten up by jealousy and a desire not just to win a lucrative prize in professional gaming, but to crush and physically humiliate his rival, Tyler Conway (Greg Hovanessian). Our villain resorts to whatever violence he can get away with, and to psychological warfare, stooping to dominate our hero's love interest. Colby plays this role to the hilt.

We all hate a bully, and we feel for Tyler Conway's demoralization. But Tyler and his team of odd-balls are resourceful and creative. A strong point of this film is how Tyler and team find a niche in society, a place where their unusual skills are useful and thrilling . MIT is so successful because it does the same thing for nerdy young people with talent.

The film is fast paced, never boring and well acted, and introduces you to the world of professional gaming which is growing faster than anyone expected, right before our eyes.
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9/10
An eye opener
ebookgamer25 January 2020
I've been playing video games since they first came out, had every console and PC rigs. This film is entertaining, and opened my eyes to eSports. A good family movie too for parents to understand eSports. It's a film about eSports team members' lives in tournament gaming and it delivers.
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