Smokescreen said:
Maybe I didn't get it because I haven't played Ghost Recon, but it felt racist (tho' that might be a reflection upon the game) and while executed as well as I might expect for an amateur production, I didn't find it to be that illuminating or amusing.
Yep, the racism is from the game. They milked it for cheap jokes, true, but it's justifiably satire.
I wouldn't be so harsh on a competition
entry, but for a contest winner, this really isn't very good. It has potential - the script is nearly funny a few times, the acting is more-or-less in character, the lighting is ok - but the execution as a whole is totally amateur. Sorry if that sounds snobbish; a couple of years of media studies at university will do that to you.
Seriously though, better movies come out of the average high school media class than this.
It basically lacks disclipline: shots go for too long, a few shots are repeated unnecessarily, the sound levels are horrendously off-balance in places (which killed at least one potentially funny joke, the Team America-style "Mexican" dialogue) and the comic timing is erratic.
This reminded me of a video made for the Nintendo Short Cuts competition, which had a similar video-games-in-real-terms premise, had vaguely similar jokes, was made with the same zero-budget style, had the same number of people and even featured people about the same age as Chris Slack's cronies. But it was tightly edited, had excellent timing, had a much funnier script and far more convincing actors, and as a result was
f-ing hilarious where the one above is just lame. Compare the two [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqhAR2t9vMU] and you'll see what I mean; it's well worth your time.
Actually I remember thinking, after I'd gone on to watch all the other youtube videos by the people from that link, "I hope someone picks these guys up to do paid work, I'd love to see more of their stuff". How about it, Escapist? It'd be another thing to keep me coming back, at least.