Beta Test (2016)

Beta Test: Directed by Nicholas Gyeney. With Manu Bennett, Larenz Tate, Linden Ashby, Kevon Stover. Champion gamer Max Troy discovers events in a new video game are being mirrored in the real world, and must join forces with the game’s protagonist, Orson Creed, to unravel the conspiracy before the game’s sinister plot overwhelms the city.

“After seeing the rating for this on here (currently at 7.0, although I suspect that will change) I thought that this might actually be really good.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut uhm, letu0026#39;s just say I think the director have a lot of good friends who are kind with their ratings.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s not completely awful, but itu0026#39;s not that great either.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIu0026#39;ve always liked Larenz Tate so itu0026#39;s cool to see him in something new, so there is always that, and he hasnu0026#39;t aged a day in 20 years (heu0026#39;s 41 believe it or not).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHe plays a gamer whou0026#39;s been given a beta version of the latest game bound to conquer global fandom, and the plot is decent enough but itu0026#39;s just such a low-budget film and that shows in every aspect of the movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFirst of all the u0026quot;gameu0026quot; that heu0026#39;s playing looks like itu0026#39;s well over 10 years old, and it simply doesnu0026#39;t make any sense why they couldnu0026#39;t just use real footage in the game scenes instead. Then at least Larenz would have a clear reason to be so blown away by the details in the game.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd the u0026quot;twistu0026quot; about the game of course would have made A lot more sense too.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKevon Stover is one of the bad guys, and his attempts at being so stereotypically tough would make even Hulk Hogan cringe. I suppose that could be intentional to get a bit of 90u0026#39;s video-game feel to the character. But yeah, heu0026#39;s a chippendale appearantly which doesnu0026#39;t come as a surprise at all.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe first hour is still semi-watchable if you manage to look past the flaws but the last 25 minutes is a bit of a drag to say the least.”